BBN Seeks Community Input
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- Category: BBN News
- Published on Wednesday, 22 May 2013 09:42
Not only is Brady at a turning point, BBN is too. The betterbradynow.org domain name will expire in October. At that time anyone who wants it can register and use it but it will have absolutely nothing to do with me or the original group of volunteers.
Better Brady Now (no .org) can either move to another domain or sub-domain and continue or simply disappear. That choice is up to the people of McCulloch County. Let me be clear, I am willing to provide a public platform for community discussion but I am not willing to do it by myself. Either the community gets involved in BBN or it is gone like the wild goose in summer.
I am willing to provide free blog space for any public official (volunteer, elected, hired or appointed). It can offer a place for citizen comment or not, depending on each official's preference.
I am willing to provide free secure areas for group discussions and planning. The group can consist of whoever you chose and there can be as many groups as you want.
I am NOT willing to publish anything for public viewing anonymously in the future. If you don't want your name on it, don't say it. Internet anonymity leads to irresponsible behavior.
Log in and leave your suggestions in the BBN Forum Suggestion Box.
John Harper
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Local Elections 2013
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- Category: BBN News
- Published on Monday, 04 February 2013 00:00
Individuals often have grandiose opinions about national issues while ignoring the candidates and issues in local elections. But the problems and issues currently facing the City of Brady are identical to the problems facing the nation as a whole. Those problems include: 1) runaway spending financed by debt, ever-increasing taxes and fees for service; 2) public officials (both elected and hired or appointed) who disregard the laws supposedly in force; and 3) dogged pursuit of ill-conceived, impractical projects that do not benefit the public as a whole but reward political cronies.
In many ways, local elections require more information and consideration than National elections. There are only four elected national offices for any individual voter: President/vice-president combination, two US Senators and one US representative. At the local level, there are over thirty elected offices in McCulloch County alone.
Political races hinge on the individual voter at the local level. They call it “grassroots” politics. Local voter preferences are mirrored up the line to the very top. If people in Brady want official accountability in Washington DC, they will have to demonstrate the principle at home. It will spread from there.
Brandon Smith sees local elections as the best, last hope for solving our national problems. Here is an excerpt from his article entitled “Our Last Chance For A Political Solution”:
It is within our counties and states that the line will be drawn between sovereign self determination, and centralized federal encroachment. Unfortunately, many Americans completely dismiss local elections as meaningless or irrelevant, and not without reason. The ‘Good Old Boy” syndrome has dominated local politics for decades, driving away sincere and honest candidates with subversive money games and trickery. Politics has become a vicious theater of fakery and deceit, rather than a service done for one’s community or nation. ... For the common voter, the whole edifice has been poisoned, and most would rather not participate at all rather than continue the farce of choosing the “lesser of two evils”.
I have always cringed at discussion of local elections, but I now understand that I, like many others, have been conditioned to do so. Corruption succeeds where good men refuse to participate.
The deadline for candidates to file for a place on the ballot in the 2013 local elections in McCulloch County is March 1. The election is scheduled for May 11. (See 2013 Election Law Calendar published by the Texas Ethics Commission)
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BBN Forum - What is it?
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- Category: BBN News
- Published on Thursday, 24 January 2013 09:12
Better Brady Now has added a new feature called a "Forum". The goal is to facilitate information sharing within our local community. Readers who routinely spend time on the internet will know what it is and how to use it instantly. It is a common feature on many websites.
Principles, Not People
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- Category: BBN News
- Published on Sunday, 13 January 2013 12:22
Our nation is in deep trouble. That means that every state, county, city and individual is in deep trouble. When America fails to follow the Moral, Political and Business principles that are soundly grounded in reality and tested true for over 200 years, then every American suffers. That suffering is just beginning to be realized at the root.
People are afraid about the future for themselves and their loved ones. Fear manifests itself as anger and irrational belligerence which makes the problem even larger and more dangerous. The net result is that civilized society may break down into anarchy and chaos. That is the cycle of history. When that happens, individuals must rely on themselves and their immediate neighbors to survive. Living becomes personal and local.
Taxpayers for Sensible Government Organize
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- Category: BBN News
- Published on Saturday, 15 December 2012 11:45
About sixty McCulloch County citizens met at the Heart of Texas Event Center on Thursday, December 13, 2012, to create a Political Action Committee (PAC) to promote sensible government in McCulloch County and the City of Brady. After being ignored by the Brady City Council as individuals, these citizens organized into seven committees under the Taxpayers for Sensible Government (TSPG) Coordinating Committee.
Political Action Committee Facts
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- Category: BBN News
- Published on Thursday, 13 December 2012 08:55
The Taxpayers for Sensible Government (TPSG) to be organized at a citizen meeting sponsored by Bill Neslage is a Political Action Committed (PAC). Here are some facts about Political Action Committees that might be useful to the citizens of Brady.
The Texas Ethics Commission published a Guide for PACs. It is a good place to start reading.
Here is the definition of a PAC from the guide:
"A political committee, commonly referred to as a “PAC,” is a group of persons that has as a principal purpose accepting political contributions or making political expenditures. Simply stated, a political committee is a group of two or more people that accepts political contributions and/or makes political expenditures. A political committee may be a large group such as an organization that collects money to support many different candidates. A political committee may also be a small group such as two people who get together to raise funds for an old friend who is a candidate for a local office".
From the definition, a PAC is:
- To raise and spend money for political purposes
- Involves more than one person
The next important fact appears on page 4 where the guide says, "A group becomes a political committee by its actions ..." .
This means a group can become a PAC without knowing it. Reading a bit further, we find that when a group raises or spends more than $500 for political purposes, it is a PAC. It subject to the laws governing PACs, must appoint a Treasurer and file regular reports.
The important point is that this just happens when $501 is raised or spent. A group becomes a PAC in the eyes of the law when that threshold is passed, whether they know it or not.
This changes the question from "Do we want to form a PAC?" to "Have we become a PAC?" or "Are we likely to become a PAC?".
This reporting requirement has been ignored in McCulloch County and Brady for so long that it has become "just the way we have always done it in Brady". If no one complies, no one can afford to complain. The first reporting PAC in McCulloch County was the Taxpayers for a Sensibly Priced Jail formed for the special purpose of opposing the bond issue for a new County jail. It was successful and legal.
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Principles, Not Personalities
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- Category: BBN News
- Published on Tuesday, 11 September 2012 22:43
It is amazing to watch the citizens of Brady be carried away in a wave of ancient gossip carried to new levels in a Facebook Frenzy. It brings back memories of Junior High School - the childish jealousies and cruel rumors that only juveniles can think important. It is just silly and amounts to nothing. They are personality clashes.
Better Brady Now is written for the adults in Brady who care about principles, facts and truth. I you disagree with BBN or we get something factually wrong, please contact us. We will be happy to make corrections or publish your views if they deal with fact or principle.
Reasonable adults can disagree without being disagreeable. If you just want to "vent" (a vent is where eggs come out of a chicken - a fact from FFA Poultry Judging over a half century ago), take it to Facebook or start your own website.
That does not mean that BBN will shy away from controversy. Facts are embarrassing to those with secrets. Principles are even more controversial. Brady is divided, like America itself, on whether the citizens own the government or the government owns the people. That is a matter of principle.
We come down firmly on the side that says that the people own the government, particularly at the local level. If you believe the local government should act in secrecy and force the people of Brady to pay and obey, then we disagree.
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Petition Legalities
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- Category: BBN News
- Published on Friday, 07 September 2012 00:00
Here are the legal facts about Certificates of Obligation and the legal requirements for a petition to force an election on whether they should be issued or not. Legal matters are always subject to endless debate. A layman's view of them is always questionable, getting a lawyer's opinion is expensive and getting a judge's opinion in court will cost even more.
Here, we will present links to the State law itself. The goal is to offer BBN readers a reference that will be useful whenever local debt issues arise or someone wants to petition for something. This will be boring. The ADD afflicted are forewarned.
Many of the laws governing local debt issuance are in the Texas Local Government Code, Title 8, Subtitle C, Chapter 271, entitled "Public Property Finance Act".
Subchapter C is called the "Certificate of Obligation Act of 1971" beginning with Sec. 271.041. Sec. 271.049 covers the required notices and makes provisions for a petition and election. Sec. 271.056 (1-4) details the situations where notices are not required and there is no provision for petition and election.
Most of the the State Law Governing petitions related to Certificates of Obligation is found in the Texas Election Code, Title 16, Chapter 277.
Citizens who want to petition the Brady City Council to hold an election on issuing Certificates of Obligation (CO) should be certain their petition, time line and procedures comply with State Law. Otherwise, all effort will be in vain. These same laws will apply to any future challenges to the City using "emergency funding" to avoid voter approval by issuing COs instead of Municipal Bonds.
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Overview of Local Government Websites
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- Category: BBN News
- Published on Wednesday, 22 August 2012 07:37
Sometimes, what people don't tell is much more important than what they do tell. The same holds true for local governments. Research to support the articles at BBN requires a lot of information. The easiest information to get is that which is posted on the official websites of the County, Schools, City and Hospital. It is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
If it is updated regularly (and "if" is the biggest word in the English language), every citizen with access to the internet can be fully informed without taking days off from work to attend meetings or depending on commercial second-hand information. An accurately informed citizenry is the foundation and backbone of limited government by, for and of the people. Without it, the people are led into a world of gossip, confrontation, propaganda, lies and distortions by dis-honest, dis-honorable schemers and crooks.
Local Government Debt = Your Personal Debt
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- Category: BBN News
- Published on Monday, 20 August 2012 23:26
Property owners in McCulloch pay taxes to support at least six local government institutions. Depending on where they live within McCulloch County, they pay varying amounts.
Some people feel that they don't own property and therefore don't pay to support local government. They are wrong. Local taxes are part of the cost of doing business in McCulloch County. They get passed through to non-property owners in the form of higher living costs and lower wages. Every citizen who lives in McCulloch county pays these taxes directly or indirectly. Everyone has a personal stake in responsible local government spending. There is no such thing as a free lunch.
BBN Negative ... or Realistic??
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- Category: BBN News
- Published on Wednesday, 15 August 2012 07:26
Some of the complaints BBN receives are that we are "Negative", that we haven't presented positive alternatives and that we make Brady "look bad". To counter that, we say that the Chamber of Commerce and City Council deny reality. Acknowledging reality only looks negative to those who live in a fantasy world. Accepting truth is positive, even if unpleasant. It is the first step to improvement.
BBN Adds Polling Capability
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- Category: BBN News
- Published on Tuesday, 07 August 2012 10:24
BetterBradyNow.org (BBN) went online about eight months ago. Since then it has grown rapidly, attracting 500 to 800 unique visitors each month. There is no way to know whether these visitors live in Brady or not. Website statistics indicate each visitor visits a little over three times per month and reads an average of about seven pages per visit. That would indicate that most visitors have a personal interest in the community.
Brady is deeply divided into factions that are hostile toward one another. The art of "disagreeing without being disagreeable" is not highly developed in Brady. Serious issues become personality clashes as all sides refuse to speak or listen to each other. Discussion of principles, wise and foolish policy, and ideas of right and wrong fall by the wayside as community discussion degenerates into heated argument about who said what about who.
Emails indicate all factions visit BBN. Comments range from "Eat s**t and die" to "God bless you - keep up the good work". To get some idea of how the community as a whole feels about current issues, BBN added a Polling module over the weekend.
Online Polling has serious limitations. First, it is limited to people who have access to a computer. That eliminates response from a large segment of the population who cannot afford a computer, can't or won't use one or simply would rather be fishing. Secondly, some people will try to skew the poll by voting more than once. We can take every precaution to prevent that but someone always finds a way to "game" the system. Then there is the fact that many people will not participate for fear of being identified. At BBN, that won't happen but saying so does not remove the fear and reluctance to participate in the poll.
Recognizing the limitations of Online Polling, our first poll appears in the Right column of the BBN Polls page. The questions is: Do you have a personal interest in Brady and McCulloch County?
Voting will last one month and is open to all visitors. Results will be available throughout the polling period.
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C of C Goals - Part 2
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- Category: BBN News
- Published on Saturday, 04 August 2012 09:26
In C of C Ranks Community Goals, Assigns Responsibility, we published the goals identified by the Chamber of Commerce and Local Governments. We also shared their top ten goals. They are:
C of C Ranks Community Goals, Assigns Responsibility
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- Category: BBN News
- Published on Wednesday, 01 August 2012 09:38
In June, the Brady Chamber of Commerce initiated meetings with local governmental agencies to establish community-wide goals and plans. Members of the planning group include Ben Francisco, Jim Quinn, Missy Davis, James Stewart, Jane Pearce, Erin Corbell, Rod Young, Tim Jones, Michele Derrick, Jason Jacoby, Darrell Keese, Mary Bradshaw, Gail Lohn, Danny Neal, Brent Deeds, Jerry Bratton, Devin Donelson, James Minor, Cheryl Copeland, and Kathi Masonheimer.
The group identified the top ten goals:
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Community unity
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Improve attitude
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Housing development
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More effective prosecution of crime
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Pride in our community—get it back
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Silent majority become the vocal majority
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Trade school
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Community auditorium—jointly owned by multiple entities
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Jail to facilitate McCulloch County and surrounding counties. Keep low cost; be responsible with tax dollars
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Vision: Where do we want to be in 2-5 year
The entire list of eighty-eight goals is outlined in the Brady Community 2012 Plan - Summary by Priority. Priority Totals range from 36 (Paved County Roads) to 110 (Community Unity). The planning group also assigned accountability for achieving these goals to various local organizations.
Some important items are not included in the top ten include improvements in the City water supply; expanding the Brady landfill to meet community needs; demolition of derelict buildings and neighborhood clean-up; city/county road maintenance; develop a plan for obtaining community feedback; and reduction of City of Brady utility charges.
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Load Craft - McCulloch County's Largest Private Employer
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- Category: BBN News
- Published on Thursday, 15 March 2012 18:24
A BBN reader pointed out that the reference document we used for the article "Brady Assets - Community Assessment, Part 2" did not mention Load Craft Industries, Ltd. Our reader was correct. It was a serious omission.
A phone call to Load Craft VP James Simmons revealed that Load Craft is the largest private employer in McCulloch county. They employ about 200 people in Brady and have an annual payroll of about $15 million.
Other large industrial employers in Brady are Carmeuse Industrial Sands, Cadre Proppants, Proppant Specialists, Frac Tech, Unimin, Momentive Specialty Chemicals and SPS/Frac Tech.
Subcategories
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City of Brady
News and Information of interest to Brady residents.
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McCulloch County
News from McCulloch County outside the City of Brady.
