Congratulations to Leadership Richardson 25 Amazing Years

It’s hard to believe, but this is the 25th anniversary of Leadership Richardson!

For those of you unfamiliar with Leadership Richardson, it is an intensive nine-month program whose mission is to strengthen and transform the community of Richardson through a structured program of leadership development, community study, and involvement. Leadership Richardson is sponsored by the Richardson Chamber of Commerce and assists participants in identifying and addressing community needs, issues, and problems and enhances personal and organizational leadership skills.

Leadership Richardson graduates have and are making unbelievable contributions to our city. Take a look at these astounding facts:

Currently alumni include:

• Chamber of Commerce for 2010:
  • 55% of the Board of Directors
  • 37% of the Advisory Board (Grads or enrolled)
• City of Richardson:
  • Three of the current Council
  • Numerous Boards and Commissions members
  • Majority of the City Leadership
• RISD:
  • Six of the seven Board Trustees
  • 70% of RISD Excellence in Education Foundation members
• Methodist Richardson Medical Center Foundation Board:
  • Approximately 30% of Board

Grads also serve in many different capacities in:

• The Arts:
  • The Richardson Arts Alliance
  • Richardson Symphony Orchestra
  • Majority of the Wildflower! Steering Committee
• Social Services:
  • Network of Community Ministries
  • Neighborhood Youth and Family Services
  • The Warren Center boards
• Civic Clubs and Organizations: (not all are listed)
  • Altrusa Int’l of Richardson
  • Rotary
  • Richardson Council of PTAs
  • Citizens Police Academy
  • Citizens Fire Academy
  • Richardson Symphony Orchestra
  • Richardson Coalition (most of our members are grads)

The picture is clear!!! Leadership Richardson has and is making a huge impact on our community.

Part of the reason Richardson remains a world-class city is the symbiotic relationship between the City, the Chamber of Commerce, RISD, and other countless organizations.

The Richardson Coalition congratulates Leadership Richardson and the very positive example these people set for our community.

It takes work and persistence to graduate from the extensive training that is offered. Friendships and relationships made for life.

Leaders are trained in the following areas:

• Social Services
• Cultural Arts (including Santa’s Village)
• City Government
• Business / Economic Development
• Health Care
• Public Education
• Public Safety

We urge all interested in leadership in our city in any capacity to consider applying for the next class.

Information can be obtained at: www.richardsonchamber.com

Congratulations and best wishes for the next 25 years!

The Eisemann Center

Highlights:

Catalyst for $500 million in additional Galatyn construction
$36 million in positive economic impact for Richardson
Major quality-of-life enhancement for our citizens

In a recent appearance before the City Council a citizen inquired, “When can the taxpayers expect to see sufficient positive economic return on their sizeable investment in the Eisemann Center?” The return began immediately with the construction of the hotel and Nortel buildings.

Here are the facts: 

• The Eisemann Center was opened in September, 2002.
• The Center cost $40.6 million, plus $8.6 million for the parking structure.
• City notes in the amount of $37.6 million were issued to cover the cost of the Center.
• Over $6,000,000 (cash plus land) was raised from individual Richardson citizens and corporations to help with this effort.
• Revenue to pay the notes was the planned increased hotel/motel tax, supplemented by the general fund.
• The Center was built within budget.
• The parking structure is designed to support the hotel as well as the Center.
• The Center has been hailed as the premier regional venue in North Texas.
• Approximately 1,250,000 people have used the Center since its opening.
• The Center has enabled an enrichment of our citizens’ lives.
• The Center has enhanced Richardson’s reputation, where the concept of “Live, Work and Play” is more than just empty words.
• Many corporations have used the Center for their employee and sales meetings, as well as other business functions.
• Many family functions such as weddings and anniversary celebrations have been held, as well as children’s recitals.
• Our diverse population has used the Center to celebrate cultural events and holidays.
• Arts groups have blossomed in a professional environment.
• Thousands of children have had their lives enriched at the Center.

The corporate decision makers for major economic developments have indicated the Eisemann Center was a major factor in their decision to invest in Richardson. These investments total almost half a billion dollars and include:

• The Bank of America (formerly Countrywide) buildings with an investment of $176,000,000.
• The Blue Cross building, which is the largest construction project for 2008/2009 in the United States, with an investment of $265,000,000.
• The Venue, with an investment of $24,000,000.
• Thousands of new jobs have been created here in Richardson.

Previous to the Development of the Eisemann Center, the surrounding property was rated “agricultural” and generated less than $75 per year.

Millions of dollars in tax revenue has been and will be generated as a result of the careful planning by Mr. Keffler and our previous City Councils.

On the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the Center’s opening, an economic impact study was conducted regarding the past and probable future impact of the Center.

For the first five years the total impact, including business generation, bond cost, new construction, hotel/motel visitors, etc., was estimated at $24,100,000.

For the next ten years the impact is estimated at $64,000,000.

Prorating the cost for the seven years to date, the total positive impact for the City of Richardson is estimated at approximately $36,000,000.

All of this was accomplished in the face of significant headwinds created by 9/11 and the subsequent national technology recession.

Yet despite this, there are still citizens who attempt to portray the Eisemann Center as a giant mistake.

The truth is that this is great news for Richardson, not bad news, as some who may not have all the facts would have you believe. The Eisemann Center is, indeed, a true city crown jewel.

Great News for Richardson

In case you missed the recent announcement, Texas Instruments has announced it will add $170,000,000 of equipment to the recently constructed $320,000,000 chip fabrication plant in Richardson, and will begin adding 250 highly-skilled people to this LEED-certified green building.

Highlights of the impact of this new TI plant:

1. Half a billion dollars in new construction
2. $300 million in research dollars for UTD in Richardson
3. 250 new highly-skilled jobs now, more later
4. $4.1 million in new tax revenue to date

This investment will create the world’s most advanced analog semiconductor plant.

These are the continuing results of a cooperative effort between the State of Texas, Collin County, Plano ISD, Collin College and the City of Richardson, with the assistance of the Richardson Chamber of Commerce’s Economic Development Program.

Complete details may be found:

TI press release and video:
http://newscenter.ti.com/Blogs/newsroom/archive/2009/09/29/video-ti-opens-world-s-most-advanced-analog-manufacturing-facility-in-the-u-s-228966.aspx

You may also be interested in a fair and balanced article by Ian McCann in the Dallas Morning News detailing the history of this project:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/city/richardson/stories/DN-richplant_04met.ART.Central.Edition1.4c13c9e.html  

Some additional, very valuable information you may find of interest:

• As part of the fab project, TI and its partners enabled a $300 million investment in engineering and research projects for UTD in Richardson.
• We are four years into the abatement.
• The fab was built in anticipation of the right market conditions so that many millions of dollars of equipment could be added at the right time to service its customers.
• That time has now arrived and the plant is being populated with the first wave of chip manufacturing equipment.
• Citizens should know that, while awaiting the commencement of production, four years of the abatement have expired and the city has collected $4,100,000 in tax revenue.

Here is the math:

• If this were still a wheat field, then the city would have collected $75 a year for four years, or $300. No, this is not an error.
• Instead, the City collected $4,100,000 with almost no expense for four years.

Here at the Coalition, we think this is a darned good deal. A $4,099,700 improvement in tax revenue is a stroke of genius.

Even still, some in our community are attempting to portray this as a big corporate giveaway.

This is not a bad deal for Richardson…it is a stunningly great deal for our city and no spin can make it otherwise.

The truth is that the economic development program in the City of Richardson is alive and well, even in this down economy. We are doing better than most other cities as a result of strong management and a forward-looking City Council, as well as great support in the city’s economic development effort by the Richardson Chamber of Commerce.

The Richardson Coalition thanks Mayor Slagel, City Manager Bill Keffler and the City Council of four years ago for their forward thinking and aggressive efforts in behalf of our city.

Texas Instruments is a terrific corporate citizen and we thank them for their confidence in our city and investing in our future.

RICHARDSON’S 2009-2010 BUDGET REFLECTS SOLID
MANAGEMENT AND DEDICATED EMPLOYEES

As we all know, these are still tough economic times. In such times, we can be glad we live in Richardson. To meet the current environment, a city to our near north is raising the tax rate 3%. A neighbor city to our south is significantly reducing staff, services, and also lowering fund balances.

Richardson is not immune to the economic times. Total property valuations city wide are down for the first time in five years. The sales tax revenue for the city is projected to decrease 2% this year. However, in spite of the above, the 2009-2010 Richardson budget provides for:

• NO TAX RATE INCREASE
• NO INCREASE IN THE WATER & SEWER RATE
• NO INCREASE IN SOLID WASTE RATES
• CONTINUANCE OF IMPORTANT INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS
• TARGETED FUND BALANCE LEVELS TO BE MAINTAINED
• THE $55,000 SENIOR EXEMPTION TO BE MAINTAINED
• NO CUTS IN CITY SERVICES

Achieving such a budget in these times is a testament to great city management and the hard work and dedication of Richardson city employees. In fact, city employees are foregoing raises this year and performing the same level of services even though a hiring freeze has been implemented.

The Richardson Coalition wants to take this opportunity to thank all our city employees for a job well done.

There are a few city fees that are increased in this budget, but the Coalition believes the small increases are very reasonable and keep the city in line with current conditions. For instance, for the first time in the city’s history, residents of other cities will have to pay a small non-resident fee to use the award- winning Richardson library.

The City Council and staff are working hard to improve future budgets, also. In just the last several months, four major new economic development announcements have been made in Richardson. This bodes well for increased property valuations and thus strong budgets in the future.

Again, we can all be thankful we live in Richardson and the Richardson Coalition thanks all those who work for the City and the City Council.

Transparency… Finally, some progress!

Over the past few years there has been much talk about our city’s governmental transparency.

While it is a fact that there is already a great deal of transparency in our city affairs, we have had a real need to make a significant improvement.

For the past two years there has been much talk and not much action in this very important area.

The new City Council has now made some quick decisions to implement much of what has been discussed.

Here are the measures recently enacted:

1. The City Council work sessions as well as Council meetings are currently being broadcast live (pod cast) as well as archived for future listening. You may listen to the last one by clicking this link:

http://www.cor.net/uploadedFiles/CityHall/PublicNotices/Council/Audio/2009-07-27%20Council%20Audio.mp3  

This is only a first step. The Council has directed city management to implement live video streaming of council meetings beginning as soon as possible (probably August).

Each meeting is planned to be archived for later viewing at a citizen’s convenience. You may view these using the Internet at home, in your office or when traveling anywhere in the world.

Please note that, in light of current economic conditions, the least expensive solution will be implemented immediately. A more comprehensive and higher quality solution will be added as economic conditions permit.

2. Effective with this month, all work papers for council meetings are now available online.

The NEW index of Council agendas and records may be found at the following link:

http://www.cor.net/CityCouncilDocuments.aspx?id=10441

These steps are only the beginning. There will be more to come.

Lastly, transparency is not a new issue. Our city has had a completely open process for years. For those of you interested in probing deeper into our city government, we would suggest the links below. These speak clearly to the transparency of our governance.

The City’s budget retreats are always open to the public and the media. All materials provided to council members were also provided to all other attendees. In addition, these important materials were posted on the city’s website the following morning. During breaks, council members and staff were accessible to those present for questions about the budget or other City matters. In case you are interested in the City’s budget process, you may study the links from the council’s budget work session:

http://www.cor.net/WorkArea/linkit.aspx?LinkIdentifier=id&ItemID=10556
http://www.cor.net/WorkArea/linkit.aspx?LinkIdentifier=id&ItemID=10569

When we have had questions about our city, we have found city management to be quite receptive in listening to and addressing any issues.

During the recent campaign, Councilman Murphy provided a list of resources that together provide a terrific avenue into researching the wealth of information that is online, most of which has been available for many years.

• City news and events (http://www.cor.net)
• Names, email addresses, and photos of all 7 Council members (http://www.cor.net/CityCouncil.aspx?id=6094)
• The agendas and actions taken for every Council meeting in the last year:
  • 2009 agendas at http://www.cor.net/CityCouncilAgendas.aspx
  • 2009 actions taken at http://www.cor.net/CityCouncilActions.aspx
  • 2008 agendas and actions taken at http://www.cor.net/CityCouncilArchive.aspx
• Names, email addresses, telephone numbers, and photos of the senior management in the City (http://www.cor.net/cmo.aspx?id=930)
• Listing and phone numbers of every department in the City (http://www.cor.net/citizens.aspx?id=472)
• The Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports for the last 5 years (http://www.cor.net/Finance.aspx?id=1492) - each one more than 100 pages packed with information and tables describing the finances and accounts of the City of Richardson, and each one accompanied by:
  • A Certificate of Achievement of Excellence in Financial Reporting presented by the Government Finance Officers Association of the US and Canada
  • An independent auditors’ report from the national accounting firm of KPMG
• Information from the City’s Budget Office, including:
  • A 45-page document on the Fund Summaries for this year’s budget (http://www.cor.net/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=7368)
  • A 61-slide PowerPoint presentation that was the same information given to the Council in the budget process (http://www.cor.net/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=7382)
• The names of each board and commission in the City (http://www.cor.net/PublicNotices.aspx?id=2468), along with:
  • The names of all members along with their terms
  • The current agendas, the archive of past agendas and actions, and other information as relevant
• The City Charter and the Municipal Codes and Ordinances (http://www.municode.com/resources/gateway.asp?pid=10221&sid=43)

In order to assure the communication of this important information, the Richardson Coalition will continue to communicate relevant links for future meetings as soon as they are posted, at least through the end of this year. This should make it easy for you to check out areas of individual interest to you.

The Richardson Coalition thanks the new Council for quick and decisive progress in this important area.

Editorial Regarding Transparency and Ethics
Follow the Money

Much has been said about transparency and ethics during the candidate forums and in election materials. Thus further examination is appropriate at this time as it relates to the individual candidates.

Recently one of our readers asked:

“How much money has the Richardson Coalition given to politicians during the 2007 and 2009 City Council elections?”

That was a fair question. Here is the answer:

Funds donated by the Richardson Coalition to political candidates:



We have watched with interest the unfolding of the campaign waged by 17 aspiring citizens for City Council seats. To our memory, never have so many sought this office at the same time in Richardson.

Campaigns are a healthy thing. But what has been a historically collegial undertaking in Richardson seems to be taking on a more combative/competitive tone that also seems to be driving fund raising.

Among those arguing for "Out with the old, and in with the new," or "We need change" or “It’s my turn,” we detect a desire to change the character of the council and arguably the city.

An examination of the election reports recently filed with the City Secretary for this election reveals a very troubling pattern.

Two years ago to our surprise we were startled to learn that the RFFA union PAC (Political Action Committee), an organization with a post office box in the city and whose members are largely OUTSIDE the City of Richardson, contributed $13,725 to a slate of candidates. We reported this to you in our editorial last year.
www.richardsoncoalition.org/Editorials.html#PotentialInfluenceUnionPAC 

This year it has come to our attention that this same union PAC has contributed between 22% and 89% (average 63%) of the money raised to date by seven of the candidates.

Once again, the same union PAC is apparently advancing a slate of candidates in contested races.


We are all for individual giving to candidates of one's choice, especially by those within our city limits. We are concerned, however, when significant sums come from organizations outside our city with agendas that may not be in the city’s best interest. We also note that a significant number of contributions have been made to candidates from other cities in Texas and many from out of state, from coast to coast.

We are particularly concerned with the acceptance of such contributions by candidates for City Council and their reasons for doing so.

The union’s to-date 2009 cash donations ($10,250) far outweigh the average of less than $300 for all individual donations.

Here is the current tally of union PAC contributions as reported to the City Secretary for 2009:


With the current clamor for "transparency," especially about our city’s budgets and spending, we wonder if those receiving large contributions from the union’s PAC will be equally transparent with the voters.

The real questions are:

• “Why would an employee union PAC be by far the largest contributor to our City Council campaigns for 2007 and 2009?”
• “Why would a union PAC contribute to people who have no demonstrated record of concrete action while they have passed over other candidates who have consistently supported our fire and police services with the best equipment, highly competitive pay and benefits, modern facilities and full council support?”

What could they possibly have to gain?

The Richardson Coalition will be watching this carefully to insure that this organization does not receive any preferential treatment, regardless of who prevails in the election.

A $7,000,000 contribution to Richardson

Our community is blessed to have many terrific individuals who give not only of their money, but also and of greater importance, their valuable time.

The Richardson Coalition has attempted to evaluate the effectiveness of volunteerism in our community.

We have requested input from many groups and most have provided it.

The Richardson Coalition salutes those individuals who have given time and resources to support our not-for-profit organizations.

In advance, please accept our apology if we do not list your group. There is no doubt that there are more than the following organizations which we have identified. We plan an update for 2009 to be published in 2010, and would encourage each group to report 2009 volunteer hours to us in January 2010.

Some groups reporting include:

• Altrusa Int’l. of Richardson
• Richardson Arts Alliance
• Citizens’ Fire Academy
• City Boards
• City Council (yes they get a whopping $50/meeting but also put in many hours doing the citizens’ business).
• Fountain Festival
• Kiwanis
• Network of Community Ministries
• Richardson-based PTA’s
• Richardson Adult Literacy Center
• Citizens’ Police Academy
• Citizens’ Police Academy Alumni Association
• Crime Watch Patrols
• Eisemann Center Volunteers
• Police Department Chaplains
• Volunteers in Policing
• Richardson Regional Medical Center Authority, Foundation and Auxiliary
• Richardson Retired Teachers Association
• Richardson Chamber of Commerce Boards and Committees
• Richardson Woman’s Club
• Three Rotary Clubs
• Richardson Symphony
• Senior Center
• VFW Ladies Auxiliary
• WildFlower
• Cottonwood/Huffines Arts Festivals

Editorial Regarding Public Safety


In the Richardson Coalition’s recent stratified random sample telephone survey of Richardson voters, 89% indicated that fighting crime should be one of the highest priorities for the City of Richardson.

In our internet survey the following results were received:

The following would be a good use of City funds:

According to a recent FBI report, while some crime categories are up and some are down, overall crime in Richardson is down 13% over the past few years. The longer-term trend is even more positive.

Even with this positive feedback, some areas of our city have experienced increasing crime rates. While the tactics used by our police are having good results, we must continue every effort to address this early.

For example, the Operational Support Unit recently successfully “busted” a group of people who targeted food delivery persons. These arrests were made with minimal information and no witnesses.

Police and Fire Services Update:

The following are some things that the city is doing that not many citizens know about. Some of these have been discussed in recent City Council work sessions and other forums.

Fire insurance – The effectiveness of our Fire Department is one of the major factors affecting our fire rates. Richardson’s fire insurance rates are lower than those of many cities.

License plate recognition technology - The Police Department now has a vehicle with equipment that will automatically read vehicle license plates on a drive-by basis. The system automatically consults several databases to determine if a vehicle has been stolen or is illegal. RPD volunteers are operating this vehicle to minimize cost to the city.

As reported by acting Police Chief Spivy, this program has been very successful since inception on January 23, 2009:

• Four stolen vehicles have been recovered.
• Four RPD warrants have been served.
• Fifty+ regional warrants were also identified, enabling appropriate police activity.

Red light camera enforcement – The goal of this program has been to improve public safety by using technology to enhance enforcement. The goal was never to increase ticket revenue. Currently the program is approximately on a break-even footing. Significantly fewer accidents (including rear-end collisions as people hit the brakes) have occurred, with decreased injuries and property damage. We thank the current City Council for expanding this very successful program.

Crime watch patrols – Over the past few years the number of crime watch patrols has doubled. Richardson now has 180 volunteers supplementing our fine police officers. With decreasing crime rates, home values have increased according to some sources.

The BOLO (Be On Look Out) Program – Citizens are encouraged to report suspicious activities to the Police Department so that it may take action. Alert citizens can impact crime rates, not by taking action themselves, but by quickly calling 911 so the Fire/Police Departments can take quick action.

Our police and fire volunteer programs are almost without equal in the United States. While we will not go into detail about each, we have citizens who volunteer every day in programs such as:

• Crime Watch Patrols (3600 hours in 2008)
• Citizens Fire Academy
• Citizens Police Academy
• Volunteers in Policing (national award-winning program)
• National Night Out Parties (1st in Texas and 2nd in the USA)

The Richardson Coalition salutes these people who give their time and service to help make Richardson the very best that it can be.

The Bottom Line:

• Public safety is a top priority for Richardson citizens. We must do everything possible to ensure that it continues to improve.
• Over the past 18-20 years Richardson’s overall crime rate has substantially declined. Even so, we must do better to help our police continue this trend.
• We need to continue to embrace new technologies as they become available to our police and fire services.
• One way Richardson becomes the best that it can be is to press forward to be even better than we are in police and fire services. The city has excellent leaders in our City Manager, City staff and both the Fire as well as the Police Departments.
• There is one additional thing that each of us can do: Say, “Thanks for your service!”
  • …when you see our public servants. It takes years of training to achieve their level of proficiency.
  • …when you see your fellow citizens who volunteer to help make our city the best that it can be.

And a final note to prospective City Council candidates and to those who will ultimately serve:

1. Citizens want and demand a safe environment.
2. The Richardson Coalition encourages you to set goals for the next two years that will take on the tough issues in our city. While our crime rates are low, they could be even lower with improved funding, training and technology enhancements.
3. Be assertive and address issues in their early stages, rather than waiting until they become obvious.
4. Let’s make Richardson the place that criminals don’t want to be.

Great Voter Turn-out and Interest in the
Recent Council Elections

A stated goal of the Richardson Coalition is to work to help make our city be the best that it can be.

Part of being a city that is “the best” includes healthy citizen participation in the election process. This year Richardson had a record number of council candidates running for office, some new faces among the council candidates, and a big increase in voter turnout at the election. We are excited about each of these healthy achievements.

Average voter turnout this year was above 7000. In comparison in the 2005 city council election voter turnout was less than 5000. In the 2007 elections average votes were less than 6000.

The Richardson Coalition gives our kudos to EVERY citizen who voted in this year’s council election.

The Richardson Coalition also extends our sincere thanks, to ALL council candidates who took the time and interest to run for election.

Looking forward, even though we can all be proud of this year’s increased voter turnout, 7000 votes is still a small percentage of the total registered voters in our city. We hope you will join us over the next years in working to ensure we continue to have a growing number of citizens interested in and voting in local elections and have many good candidates in city elections so voters continue to have great choices.

In an effort to achieve this, we would like to invite you to help us increase citizen awareness and involvement by inviting your friends and neighbors to join the Richardson Coalition e-mail community. At our website main page: www.richardsoncoalition.org, there is an easy sign up box. They will receive about one e-mail per week, including the monthly feature “Richardson News in 3 Minutes”.

Regarding Sexually Oriented Businesses in Richardson

After the outcry in 2006, it was thought that the point had been made about the desire of the Richardson citizens to do everything legally possible to control and/or eliminate this type of business.

In our recent survey of registered voters in Richardson, the following results were received:

“In 2006-2007, the City Council added to the city’s ordinances regarding Sexually Oriented Businesses, making Richardson one of the toughest cities in the state to protect citizens from this type of business. Do you agree or disagree with this move?”


In fact the 2006-2007 City Council enacted ordinances to effectively control zoning to the fullest extent possible in light of recent U. S. Supreme Court decisions.

During the first year of the current council, led by Mayor Mitchell, a large number of goals and initiatives on a wide range of issues was added to the list of initiatives for its term.

Only one was removed. It was the continued emphasis on keeping Richardson free of Sexually Oriented Businesses.

On January 7, 2008 this initiative was presented as part of the proposed initiatives for the current City Council:


At the end of the discussion the comment was made, “The less said about that the better,” and Mayor Mitchell directed the City Manager to remove this initiative from the list of initiatives for the City Council.

One week later, on January 14, 2008, the next draft was presented and the SOB initiative had been removed.
After Removal

We do not believe that Mayor Mitchell supports Sexually Oriented Businesses.
We do not believe that the rest of the council supports them.

We do believe that the new members of the Council lack the will to address this sensitive issue. If not, why then would this have been removed from the current City Council’s list of initiatives?

If this, a most sensitive issue, were treated with a head-in-the-sand attitude, how will other sensitive issues be addressed?

The citizens of Richardson need leadership. Removal of this initiative, hoping that it will just go away, is certainly not what the Richardson Coalition views as being in alignment with citizen priorities.

The Richardson Coalition believes that to ignore critical issues is irresponsible.

What we need are people who lead, not people who follow or attempt to hide from the important issues of our day.

Regarding Illegal Immigrants

The Richardson Coalition supports the following concepts:

First, the United States is a country of laws and all citizens and any non-citizens in this country should be expected to obey the laws of our country.

Second, we believe in equal rights and responsibilities for all who have respected the laws of our country and arrived using the legal processes available to all non-citizens.

We do not support our city providing special services to persons who have violated their duty to our laws and illegally come to our country and city without legal application and approval from the Federal Government. We never want to see Richardson become a “sanctuary city” for illegal immigrants as a few other cities in Texas have become.

We strongly support our city police in their right to report to the federal immigration authorities any person found to be in this country illegally while caught during an offense in violation of our laws.

As of October 1, 2008 the Texas Department of Public Safety adopted a new policy requiring non-citizens to prove they are in this country legally before they can obtain or renew a driver's license. Under the change, people who are not citizens or lawful permanent residents of the United States must present valid governmental documentation that they are in the country legally before they can obtain a driver's license or personal identification card.

We applaud this change by the State. It should greatly help all local authorities identify immigration law violators during routine transactions including something as simple as driver’s license checks during traffic incidents.

We believe that English should be the language of the City of Richardson.

We do not support so-called “door-to-door” searches to check legal status of law-abiding citizens.

We do not support expensive and exploratory ordinances that could create legal issues for the City.

In our recent survey of Richardson voters the following results were recorded:


We encourage the Mayor and Council to stay on top of this important subject, and make sure all new tools available to the city are used to identify immigration law offenders.

Silence or inaction until there is a big problem is not the solution.

Potential Influence of a Union Political Action Committee

In our recent survey of Richardson voters the following question was asked:

“During the last election, the largest contributor of funds to City Council candidates was a union-oriented political action committee. The primary receivers of this PAC’s funds are also the four newest members of the City Council. Do you see this as an attempt to influence votes to support the union’s cause?”

82.8% of respondents replied, “yes definitely,” or “yes, probably.”

The candidates receiving funds (cash plus in kind) from a union political action committee, as reported to the City Secretary were as follows:


While we voice no position about unions themselves, the view of the Richardson Coalition is that unions should not have a voice in the governance of our city.

Further, we believe that unions attempting to represent local municipal workers should not attempt to unduly influence city elections.

Richardson voters can draw their own conclusions regarding the implications of this situation.

Regarding Business and Retail Revitalization

A vital and living business community is essential in the development of any successful community.

The Richardson Coalition supports a well-balanced development strategy for our community.

While the Richardson Chamber of Commerce has been very successful in their endeavors to attract and retain businesses to locate in and redevelop Richardson, leadership from the current Council is needed now more than ever, particularly in these tough economic times.

Citizens clearly support a well-balanced emphasis between the City, business and residents. Very few people would like a city controlled by either developers or people who want no progress or rebuilding of our business tax base.

In our recent survey of Richardson voters, the following results were received:

“Richardson has always benefited from having businesses provide at least 50% of the cost of the city’s property tax revenue. Do you support the efforts of the City to attract more businesses in order to increase sales and business property tax revenue?”

The respondents said:


Should the City also consider a tax incentive program for renewal in business areas?

The respondents said:

A visible sign of prudent use of municipal incentives to induce major development is the current construction of the Blue Cross/Blue Shield headquarters building. At over one million square feet in size, it is the largest office headquarters that will have been built in the Metroplex in the last 25 years (JC Penney’s being the previous largest HQ built). The Richardson Economic Development Partnership (REDP) solidified the Blue’s decision to build their HQ with municipal assistance, including infrastructure improvements and a 50% tax abatement on the value of the new construction (the city keeps the other 50% which more than covers the cost of City services). The abatement expires after 10 years.

Clearly an active and assertive program to attract businesses best serves the interests of Richardson. The economic development program in cooperation with the Richardson Chamber of Commerce has worked very effectively over the years. With more resources, the City could expand this efficient and cost effective program to accelerate business and retail development.

We encourage the City Council, in conjunction with City management and the Richardson Chamber of Commerce, to develop a long-term strategy for this very important program.

Richardson urgently needs leadership to set the direction of our city and lead us into a city where the Live, Work, and Play goals are combined to provide the Quality of Life we deserve, expect and demand.

Regarding Neighborhood Integrity

There are many ways to measure the quality of a city. Here are some recent measures about Richardson:

• Best small cities to live in the USA - Richardson is #18 According to “Money” magazine http://www.richardsoncoalition.org/uploads/Top20assent.doc 
• Best places to raise kids – Richardson is #2 in Texas according to Business Week magazine,
• Richardson is one of a handful of cities to receive a AAA credit rating from Standard and Poor’s http://www.richardsoncoalition.org/uploads/sandpannouncement.doc

The fine people of our City are the real force behind all the accolades Richardson has received. These are the people who live and make up our neighborhoods. Without great people, a great Richardson does not and will not exist.

During the 2006-2007 city administration neighborhood integrity was made a key objective, and several initiatives to improve our neighborhoods were started. The City Manager’s office and City Council made it an area of special focus, adding resources to help make it happen.

While the City of Richardson and current City Council continue to make Neighborhood Integrity a focal point, it is important to keep these at the forefront of the City’s efforts. The “Neighborhood Parking” initiative is a good example of this.

The vast majority of Richardson’s residents support these efforts to stabilize the decline in some of our neighborhoods, positioning them for recovery, and ensuring that our stronger neighborhoods stay strong.

In our recent survey of Richardson voters, when asked if Richardson should increase code enforcement, the following results were received:


The message is very clear. There is strong support for increased enforcement.

The Richardson Coalition wants to thank the Neighborhood Integrity Department for its hard work and we support their efforts on our behalf. They are doing a terrific job! They will gladly work to resolve an issue but you need to help them help you. Here is information about their resources and how you can contact them:

http://www.cor.net/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=3492

While no one wants to see the city become excessively aggressive, it is clear that a continued emphasis on neighborhood integrity is very important to the citizenry.

Unfortunately, a small but very vocal minority of citizens has worked to slow or deny progress in this very important area. These people appear to have intimidated some on our City Council. We urge all coalition supporters to voice their views directly to any or all of their council members.

The Richardson Coalition believes that:

• The foundation of our city is its citizens and the neighborhoods they live in.
• The efforts of the City and City Manager’s office to focus on neighborhood integrity are well placed, and that
• The City should take the next logical step by increasing code enforcement.

Note related editorials:

• Run Down Apartments http://www.richardsoncoalition.org/Editorials.html#runDownApts  
• Residential Renewal http://www.richardsoncoalition.org/Editorials.html#residentialRenewal  

Run-Down Apartments

The Richardson Coalition notes with pleasure that City management and the Building and Standards Commission have made an aggressive move to evaluate and deal with run-down apartments in our city.

Not only are they potentially unsafe for residents but can also present significant issues for the police and fire departments.

As an aging city, it is increasingly difficult to maintain residential and commercial property.

It is easy to take the path of least resistance and patiently endure those who live among us who abuse our quality standards.

We know that our citizens support strict enforcement from the results of our recent survey:

In a stratified random sample of Richardson registered voters conducted earlier this year, the following results were received:

“There are some low-rent apartments in Richardson that may be increasing crime and hurting property values. City leaders need to start cracking down on run-down apartments including condemnation”.

While we encourage strict enforcement of codes, we do not support starting a ham-handed autocratic process.

We do support a process provided by City ordinances and followed by City staff.

Where there are individuals with continuing violations, we encourage employment of the judicial process as soon as it becomes apparent that the property owner is just simply ignoring or willfully delaying abatement of the issue.

Richardson continues to be negatively impacted by the presence of these urban nuisances and their excessive violation of the city’s standards.

The city department in charge of this is the Neighborhood Services Department. http://www.cor.net/NeighborhoodServices.aspx?id=3514

The citizen review board is the Building and Standards Commission.

Once problems have been identified, the process appears to be well executed by the various organizations involved.

We encourage citizens to communicate with their representatives to indicate citizen support for this initiative to eliminate run-down apartments from our city.

Here are some resources that you can utilize:

The members of the Building and Standards Commission include:


When you see these folks we encourage you to thank them for their service to our city and encourage them to continue their aggressive pursuit of apartments and businesses not living up to Richardson standards.

In our city we are blessed to have people who serve on these boards like this with little or no recognition. We support the City staff, the Building and Standards Commission and our Municipal Judge in requiring compliance of all property owners in our City in order to maintain and enhance property values and quality of life for the remaining 99% of our residents. We urge city officials to act quickly when noncompliance becomes a tactic of a few citizens who have abused our City’s gracious attitude.

The Richardson Coalition appreciates their service to our city and we thank them.

Residential Renewal

Our City has always been a leader in technology and education, as well as being a leader as a great residential community in the north Texas area.

Today, our infrastructure is in need of renewal and the city is doing a great job in many areas.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in many of our residential areas.

The Richardson Coalition applauds the efforts of the 2005-2007 city council and city management to offer renewal incentives for our residential areas.

This is an innovative program, not only in the region but also in the United States. We are indebted for the prior council’s leadership.

In our recent survey of Richardson voters, the following results were received:

“Richardson is an aging city. To address this issue, the city has established a tax incentive program for residential renewal.”



As of this date, there are 130 projects underway representing an investment of over 10.5 million dollars if completed as planned.

To qualify, an improvement project involving the reconstruction or remodeling of a single family home must (1) commence after February 12, 2007, (2) cost at least $20,000 and (3) be completed within 24 months of project approval. *

A one-time rebate equal to 10 times the amount of the increase in city taxes will be paid to the homeowner based on the property's pre-construction and post-construction appraised value. The appraisal district will determine the home's certified value. *

The rebate will be paid to the homeowner pursuant to the economic development agreement on April 1 of the first full calendar year after completion of the approved project. *

Example
Assume that a home improvement project is completed in June 2007. Further assume that the 2008 property taxes increased $300 above the 2007 property taxes as a result of the increase in the taxable value of the improvements. The total incentive would be $3,000 and would be paid on April 1, 2009. *

The key questions for citizens are:

• What is the program?
• What does the program do?
• How does the program work?
• What is in it for the applicant?
• How do I apply for the program?

The answer to these important questions and more may be found on the City’s web site: http://www.cor.net/neighborhoodservices.aspx?id=3430

Clearly this program has support of our citizens but 40% of the registered voters appear to not have enough information about this program.

This excellent program has not yet been adequately communicated to our residents.

Just think what could happen if everyone got the word and a larger percentage of our residential owners participated in the program.

The Richardson Coalition encourages the city management and the City Council to aggressively communicate and promote this excellent program.

*Source: City of Richardson. This is provided for summary only. See the link above for complete details.

Multi-family Housing Plans for Richardson Need Careful Planning and Clarity

How many multifamily and high-density apartments are in Richardson’s future?

With city residential land mostly built out, and a comprehensive planning guide in place, this should be a straightforward question, right? Especially since, looking at the new Comprehensive Planning Guide Update’s future land use plan, the land use category “Multi-Family Residential” lists only a very few areas with this land use.

However, consider this. In the proposed Comprehensive Planning Guide Update the following categories of land use can be considered for new multi-family apartment zoning:

• Regional Employment areas
• Neighborhood Mixed-use areas
• Transit Village
• Enhancement/redevelopment areas
• And multi-family residential areas.

In fact of the nine non-public types of land use listed in the Comprehensive Planning Guide Update land use plan, five can be considered for new multi-family housing zoning (see the city website below for details of the Comprehensive Planning Guide Update draft http://www.cor.net/CompPlanHome.aspx?id=5880).

The land at the southeast corner of Campbell Road and Central Expressway was zoned in the 90’s for office buildings. Look today and what you see is massive new apartment construction. The land is now listed as “Transit Village,” even though there is not a DART station close to this site.

The view from the south facing glass wall of the Eisemann Center is now a mass of multi-story apartment buildings. The original concept here was to allow high rise, upscale condos, office buildings and restaurants along the Galatyn Plaza. The land use in the Comprehensive Planning Guide that these apartments come under is “Regional Employment.”

The reality is that a large portion of Richardson’s land COULD be zoned multi-family and stay within the confines of the soon to be adopted, Comprehensive Planning Guide Update. This is not to say this city council or any future city council would agree to such a great increase in multi-family zoning in Richardson, but the uncertainty of how much multi-family zoning might be considered is very concerning.

When Richardson was a much younger city and large employment centers were just south in Dallas, a great deal of zoning was done for apartments in the south part of Richardson with the idea that young professionals needed places to live close to those employment centers. Some apartments were even targeted as singles only. Over the years:

• Employment centers moved
• The type of housing young professionals wanted changed
• The Fair Housing Act basically put a stop to adults only and singles-only renting

As a result, Richardson was left with a decades long headache of deteriorating apartment complexes. Local schools were stretched to keep up with and educate an exploding population of highly transient school children from many cultures who speak many different languages.

The Richardson Coalition urges our City Council to not make the same mistake of the past.

Multi-family zoning has a place in any city, but the amount of such zoning needs to stay in careful balance with single-family neighborhoods and the ability of schools to service those residents, and the city to provide adequate services to high density population centers.

Careful attention is needed to establish not only targets for maximum amount of multi-family housing but also for a mix of apartment sizes in new complexes. Zoning for large complexes of only small square footage apartments does not foster a good mix of resident demographics.

City leaders need to remember that multi-family apartments and condos that start out mostly rented by empty nesters and single professionals without children may not stay that way, and may eventually be rented by families with many, many children to educate. In addition too much multi-family housing in any one area and too much high density housing can drastically change the character of the city’s residential environment.

City leaders need to urgently take a long, hard look at what overall amount and type of multi-family zoning is appropriate for Richardson, get citizen input on the issue, set maximum limits for such zoning possibilities, document the limit in the Comprehensive Planning Guide Update , and make all future decisions in line with that balance.

We hope current city leaders will grasp the significance of this issue and take immediate action to deal with it?

Support for the Network of Community Ministries

Politicizing a valuable community resource is completely unacceptable.

First, the position of the Richardson Coalition needs to be crystal clear.

We support all that the Network of Community Ministries stands for and the wonderful services that it provides.

Many of our members have served on Network’s board. Many have served as volunteers and most have donated time and/or money to Network. They have attended Network fundraisers, Network golf tournaments, and many other functions, raising tens of thousands of dollars for Network.

It is therefore with concern that we see what appears to be an attempt to politicize Network.

Recently letters were circulated criticizing the City for not supporting Network.

The facts are these as enumerated in a recent letter from the Mayor and supplemented by the Coalition’s editorial staff:

The City of Richardson has, since Network’s inception, provided auxiliary support to Network in many ways. Among those include:

• Annual $2500 sponsorship of the Billye Meyer Golf Tournament
• Almost $1000 in annual sponsorships at Network Galas
• Regarding the City’s Wildflower Festival:
  • A free $2500 premium exhibit space has been provided for many years.
  • Network is the ONLY organization permitted to fundraise at the Wildflower Festival.
  • Network receives free promotion in all Wildflower promotional materials and on the Festival’s website.
  • Proceeds from the Wildflower Festival guitar auction are given to Network (usually around $5000).
  • For years, food donations had been collected at the entrances to the Festival for Network. The guitar auction was substituted when food donations declined. This decision was taken at Network’s suggestion.
• The Police Department has incorporated Network into the Richardson Challenge program.
• The Fire Department works to distribute and install smoke detectors for Network clients as suggested by Network.
• The City provides two city employees and one retired city employee to serve on Network’s Board of Directors.
• In partnership with Network, the City:
  • Works through the Neighborhood Services Department to help the elderly with necessary home repairs.
  • Fully funds the Senior Center.
  • Has facilitated millions of dollars of low-cost vaccinations and other inexpensive health care to seniors in cooperation with RRMC.
  • Housed and fed hundreds of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita evacuees in City facilities.

Regrettably none of these facts were mentioned in the aforementioned letters to City management.

This unseemly maneuver appears to be nothing more than a way to unfairly criticize and embarrass the City.

Network has many challenges…but Network is a terrific organization and deserves support from all of us. If you wish, you can also support Network. Please see Network's website for details: www.thenetwork.org/default.htm

Tawdry political attacks like these have no place in our community and can do nothing but hurt Network.

Not only do they hurt Network, but they also hurt the churches and many donors who may now view Network in a different light.

Politicizing a valuable community resource is completely unacceptable.

Richardson Residents for Responsive Government is a Political Action Committee, Joe Mathews, Treasurer.