This builds off a post below regarding the rising level of local debt in the state.
The Texas Comptrollers office has released a report - Your Money and Local Debt - pointing out the rising level of local debt over the past ten years. She argues that not enough information is provided people about the amount of money already owed "for roads, schools and other public projects."
The Chronicle comments on the plan, and point out that critics argue that increased local debt is a consequence of decreased state support for local services. They add this nugget from Harris County Judge Ed Emmett:
Although Harris County has no bond proposals on the ballot this fall, County Judge Ed Emmett
criticized the report's use of population growth and inflation as a
benchmark to compare spending and debt. The state built the University of Texas
and Texas A&M University with proceeds from oil discoveries, Emmett
said, and could not have done so if it had been constrained by that
alone. "The Ship Channel, the highway system, all those things were
built in anticipation of future growth, not waiting until you get the
growth and then saying, 'OK, now you can spend the money,' " he said.
Emmett stressed the difference between debt backed by property taxes and that backed by revenues, such as tolls paid to the Harris County Toll Road Authority.
Combs acknowledged that "there is plenty of good debt" that voters
approve to help finance highway and water-related projects, for example.
Still, she charged that too many governmental bodies are piling up debt
without regard to its impact on future generations of Texans. "Have
they done all their due diligence? Have they tried as hard as they know
how to be strategic, to be careful?"
She makes this recommendation for how referenda for bond approvals ought to be presented to the public:
Combs suggested several ways to make debt obligations more
transparent. As new debt is presented to voters for approval, her report
recommended including on the ballot the amount of outstanding debt,
debt service, per capita obligation, the amount of new debt, estimated
debt service and the estimated per capita burden for proposed bonds.
