Unelected toll tax authority hopes new MoPac 'managed lanes' will bring them Mo' Money

Lawmakers look to ease MoPac congestion

7/7/10

by Andrew Horansky
KVUE News
Copyright 2010

It is an artery so often clogged, the name is notorious. On Wednesday, state transportation leaders talked about ways in which the congestion along MoPac could be eased.

“Time is lost, fuel is wasted, air quality is degrading and drivers are increasingly frustrated,” said Ray Wilkerson, Chairman of the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority.

Part of their plan is to add toll roads along MoPac between Parmer Lane in North Austin and Slaughter Lane south of the city. The cost to use the lanes would go up when traffic is heavier, and down when it is lighter.

“And if you need to pick up your child from daycare, or whatever you need to do, you will now have a choice to go down an express lane without an impeded flow,” Wilkerson said.

Leaders may be taking their cue from cities like Houston. The city recently added special toll lanes where, depending on time of day, drivers pay anywhere from 30 cents to several dollars to avoid bad traffic.

Yet other changes will happen along MoPac first. Repaving has begun between 2222 and Cesar Chavez. Later this year, re-striping will begin near the Enfield and Cesar Chavez exits. Another project under discussion is the addition of new sound barriers along MoPac.

A two-year environmental study must also be completed before toll roads open. An early estimated cost for the entire project is $250 million.

© 2010 Somervell County Salon: www.kvue.com

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"There's no law preventing governors from holding phony signing ceremonies..."

Political tractor pull: Ag endorsement could be up for grabs in Texas gubernatorial race

7/7/10

Ken Herman
Austin American-Statesman
Copyright 2010

We delve today into a curious subplot in a curious Texas gubernatorial race (i.e., one in which Dems might have an actual chance of winning).

GOP Gov. Rick Perry, a rancher before he got into government work at an early age, and Democratic challenger Bill White, a city boy whose saddle time has been accumulated on a bike, will participate in a jointish appearance today at a Texas Farm Bureau conference in San Marcos. Their speeches are separated by lunch and come right after Wizzie Brown discusses fire ant control.

At stake, though it won't happen today, is the endorsement of the agricultural group that claims to represent more than 400,000 rural Texans. The endorsement comes through Texas AgFund, the bureau's political wing.

This will be the sixth gubernatorial election in which AgFund has endorsed. So far, it's five for five, backing the GOP nominee every time (loser Clayton Williams in 1990 and winners George W. Bush in 1994 and 1998 and Perry in 2002 and 2006).

So, you might think, easy call here for the ag crowd: Perry the ex-rancher Republican from rural Paint Creek over White the lawyer, energy businessman and ex-Houston mayor Democrat who does not exude farm boy. Nope, not that easy. The Farm Bureau backed Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in her ill-fated bid against Perry in this year's GOP gubernatorial primary. After endorsing Perry in four of his five statewide races, the Farm Bureau (which backed Democrat John Sharp in the 1998 lite governor race won by Perry) looked elsewhere this year due largely to Perry's Trans-Texas Corridor project, an ambitious, aborted highway-building effort. Ag interests feared the project would include aggressive use of the state's eminent domain power, which they viewed as a threat to their land.

In 2007, Perry, a former two-term state ag commissioner, vetoed an eminent domain reform bill backed by the Farm Bureau. During this year's campaign, Hutchison promised to make the topic an emergency item in the 2011 Legislature. It remains the Farm Bureau's priority issue for next year's legislative session.

Last year, Perry, in a political rehab effort, backed a proposed constitutional amendment — on last November's ballot as Proposition 11 — barring government from taking private land for private economic development. Voters overwhelmingly approved it.
In a fine bit of political grandstanding, Perry went to the Alamo to sign the proposed amendment last June. It was an inspiring ceremony filled with Perry rhetoric about the importance of private property.

But the whole thing was a phony deal.

In Texas, governors don't sign, nor can they veto, proposed constitutional amendments approved by lawmakers. Such proposals go directly to the ballot for voter review.

But there's no law preventing governors from holding phony signing ceremonies at major state landmarks. To remember the Alamo event, see my video at statesman.com/opinion.

Perry's support for the amendment didn't sway the Farm Bureau.

"We all know that while Prop 11 was important in preventing property from being taken for private use, it does not address the needed reforms Governor Perry vetoed pertaining to good-faith offers, fair market value and compensation for diminished access," the bureau said in kicking off its efforts to defeat Perry in the GOP primary.

Further complicating Perry's bid for Farm Bureau backing could be his campaign spokesman Mark Miner's assertion that the Hutchison endorsement was "political payback" for her support for the government bailout of financial and insurance industry interests. Miner, noting the Farm Bureau's insurance operation, said, "We're not surprised that an insurance company who supported the bailout would endorse somebody who voted for it."

Despite that, Farm Bureau spokesman Gene Hall assured me a Perry endorsement is possible.

"I've been instructed to repeat we have three possible positions. We could endorse either or remain neutral," Hall said.

"It's always, up till now, been a Republican. That, however, doesn't mean anything," he said.

White's banking on that. He's been making personal pitches to Farm Bureau leaders.

"I oppose use of eminent domain to benefit private companies and ill-conceived land grabs such as the Trans-Texas Corridor," he said in a personally signed letter to those folks in advance of today's conference.

Will the Farm Bureau endorsement swing the election? Unlikely. But the battle for it is another reminder that this gubernatorial contest offers some things out of the ordinary.

In endorsing Hutchison, Texas Farm Bureau President Kenneth Dierschke said, "For the future of Texas, we call for new leadership. We call for new ideas and a new vision."

Doesn't sound like a guy looking for a governor who's been in office since December 2000, does it?

kherman@statesman.com; 445-3907

© 2010 Austin American-Statesman: www.statesman.com

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With more than $7 billion in debt and a recession that has depressed overall traffic, NTTA hammers drivers with huge fines to recoup their losses.

Camera system's flaws cost tollway authority millions in lost revenue

7/3/10

By MICHAEL A. LINDENBERGER
The Dallas Morning News
Copyright 2010

Hundreds of thousands of drivers are getting a free ride on area toll roads even as tollway authorities hammer others with huge fines to recoup their losses. The reason: The costly camera system that is fast replacing human toll-takers routinely fails to identify customers who use the roads without a TollTag. As a result, 28 percent of drivers without TollTags are never even billed.

That means North Texas Tollway Authority leaves a big pool of money on the table each year – a sum its officials have gone to great, and controversial, lengths to recoup.

How big? In 2010, the authority expects customers without TollTags to rack up 80 million tolls worth $64 million. With 28 percent never billed, mainly because of NTTA's inability to match images from the cameras to valid addresses for the vehicles' owners. NTTA will lose $17.9 million in uncollected – and unbilled – toll revenue.

That's more than offset, officials say, by reduced operating costs as the last of the toll booths are eliminated by the end of the year. And, they believe the TollTags that 80 percent of their customers now have will make using their roads easier and bring more revenue.

But for now, with more than $7 billion in debt and a recession that has depressed overall traffic, NTTA finds itself under pressure to recoup as much of that lost revenue as possible.

So far, it has found no way to make the cameras more successful. And its efforts to persuade customers to sign up for TollTags – which involves paying tolls before incurring them – have fallen short of expectations.

Some drivers who were never invoiced say they called and asked to pay – and still didn't get a bill.

"I have found the system without tollbooths very confusing as a visitor to the area," said Mary Ann Appling, who comes to Dallas often with two children in nearby colleges.

"The first time I realized I was accidentally on a toll road without paying, I panicked. Being unfamiliar with the system and expecting a tollbooth, I had no idea what to do next. I expected an officer to start following me, but it never happened.

"I called the toll authority and they told me I would get a bill," she said. "It never arrived."

'Positive transition'

NTTA spokeswoman Sherita Coffelt said despite the billing problems, the switch to electronic tolls has benefited drivers, making the roads safer, traffic faster, and the air cleaner – all due to the fact that drivers no longer have to stop every few miles to pay.

"Overall it has been a positive transition," she said. "We've seen a 13 percent reduction in accidents on the Bush Turnpike while usage has steadily increased. And travel time, too, has been reduced."

She said NTTA will save $10 million in annual operations and maintenance expenses as well.
NTTA's problems with the cameras aren't unique, but they do seem more severe than some other agencies. The Texas Department of Transportation uses cameras to identify about a fifth of its customers on three roads near Austin. Of those, 13 percent are never sent bills, said spokeswoman Karen Amacher.

NTTA knew the cameras wouldn't work all the time and expected them to occasionally fail. But in the two years since it began phasing in the new cameras, failures have been much worse than anticipated. That's partly because the state address database often proves unreliable.

But the collections problems associated with the new reliance on the cameras goes well beyond troubles with outdated addresses. In fact, the $17.9 million that NTTA misses because of the faulty camera system is only the beginning of the hassles brought on by NTTA's $92 million conversion to all-electronic toll collections.

Even among the customers the cameras do identify, only 39 percent pay on time. An additional 29 percent pay after late fees or higher administrative fees are assessed.

But fully one out of every three of the customers sent bills simply refuses to pay. They can quickly find themselves dealing with collection agencies and penalties that turn small toll debts into bills worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

They have plenty of company. This year, for instance, NTTA expects to sic collection agencies on more than 400,000 drivers.

And while NTTA leaders point out the obvious – if these drivers simply paid on time, they'd avoid the collections hassles – many drivers dispute the agency's claim that they received a bill.

Together these delinquent accounts represent $14.7 million in unpaid tolls. But once the collection firms add on stiff penalties, they have the right to collect debts worth a total of $277 million.

Collections policy

The NTTA's nine-member board has voted to keep its collections policies intact, though it has reduced the fees customers must pay if they settle within 75 days – the point at which debts go to collection firms.

One board member who has consistently disagreed is vice chairman Victor Vandergriff of Tarrant County.

"I think the concept of the electronic tolls is good," said Vandergriff, noting the convenience for TollTag users and the operational savings for NTTA.

"But I am still troubled by the rate of uncollected tolls, the reported rates of the camera failures, and the administrative fees program in generation. I am concerned that perhaps those who are paying are paying far more than they should to offset what we are not getting from those who don't pay [or aren't billed] at all."

As scary as the soaring fees can be for the drivers who refuse to pay, the news is equally depressing for NTTA.

NTTA says 4.1 percent of the total will be collected this year. Once the firms take their commissions, which average 19 percent, NTTA will recoup just $9.2 million.

© 2010 The Dallas Morning News: www.dallasnews.com

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"Being a crony of Perry is a very profitable endeavor, because, as a career politician, he takes care of his friends as they take care of him."

Perry picks former aide to 'modernize' TxDOT

7/2/10

By PEGGY FIKAC
AUSTIN BUREAU
The Houston Chronicle
Copyright 2010

AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry's former chief of staff will be paid more than $303,000 over 14 months, plus benefits, to help modernize the Texas Department of Transportation, according to an interagency contract signed Friday.

Jay Kimbrough, who previously served as Perry's go-to person to lead reforms at the Texas Youth Commission after an abuse scandal, has been special adviser to the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents. He also served as Perry's homeland security director and was deputy attorney general for criminal justice under Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott.

Kimbrough emphasized that his 12-month base salary of $260,000 will remain the same as it was for being special adviser to the A&M regents: "I ain't getting a raise."

He said of his new post, "The data is there. We've got to make sure that the Legislature and the leaders can make the decisions based on a clear and accountable discussion of what the data is."

Rocky times recently

His salary of $303,338 and benefits totaling $58,787, including health insurance, are detailed in a $385,481 interagency contract between TxDOT and the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M. The contract ends Aug. 31, 2011.

The funds will come from TxDOT's administrative budget, agency spokesman Chris Lippincott said.

TxDOT has 12,000 employees and has gone through rocky periods with lawmakers and members of the public. A report in 2008 by the Sunset Advisory Commission staff found concerns that TxDOT was "out of control" in the wake of controversy over planned public-private partnerships on toll roads, the now-fizzled Trans-Texas Corridor transportation network and questions about finances.

Critical of pick

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White's campaign, which has accused Perry of a politically-driven governing style that rewards friends who help him, seized on Kimbrough's appointment as another example.

"Being a crony of Perry is a very profitable endeavor, because, as a career politician, he takes care of his friends as they take care of him. Perry has frequently called on Kimbrough to clean up his messes, from sexually abused children to massive fiscal mismanagement. Perhaps Kimbrough's first step at TxDOT will be to purchase a calculator so he can avoid billion-dollar accounting errors," said White spokeswoman Katy Bacon, referring to a $1 billion accounting error uncovered by a 2008 audit of the agency.

A prominent Democratic House member, Transportation Committee Chairman Joe Pickett of El Paso, expressed confidence in Kimbrough, saying he "has got a reputation for turning stuff around. He's done this many times before, and I have a lot of confidence in him."

pfikac@express-news.net

© 2010 The Houston Chronicle: www.chron.com

Former Perry aide, corporate lawyer to head TxDOT overhaul

7/2/10

By Ben Wear
Austin American-Statesman
Copyright 2010

The reconstruction of the Texas Department of Transportation took on two experienced architects Friday.

Jay Kimbrough , a former chief of staff for Gov. Rick Perry, will be paid almost $360,000 in salary and benefits over the next 14 months to run the day-to-day operations of a small team being assembled.

Howard Wolf, who retired from the Fulbright & Jaworski law firm in 2003 after 44 years and is acting chairman and general counsel of Falcon Seaboard Co., a corporation owned by Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst , will assume more of a chief executive officer role, officials said.

Wolf, 75 , is serving as a volunteer and will not be paid a salary.

Their task: Take the voluminous analysis and recommendations of a recent, 627-page management review of TxDOT, as well as earlier critiques by the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission and various auditors, and make genuine change at the agency in charge of Texas highways, airports, rural transit and ferries.

Given the $2 million cost of that management review released in late May, Kimbrough's compensation and what will be paid to other team members, managing an overhaul of TxDOT could cost something close to $3 million. Bill Meadows, who serves on the five-member Texas Transportation Commission, which brought on Kimbrough and Wolf, said it would be money well-spent. Meadows said although the agency's district offices do yeomanly work building and maintaining transportation facilities, he has been less satisfied with what's going on at the top.

"My frustrations have really been more management, vision, direction," Meadows said. With money drying up for TxDOT, Meadows said, "we better be creative, we better be innovative, we better be open. My experience is that we are not always there."

Kimbrough, 62 , has specialized over the past 15 years in parachuting into troubled Texas government bureaucracies and, through an aggressive management style appropriate to his early adulthood as a Marine, making things change. Aside from his most high profile jobs, serving as conservator briefly of the Texas Youth Commission in 2007 and as Perry's chief of staff in 2008 and 2009 , Kimbrough also intervened at the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, the Texas Commission on Private Security and, most recently, the biodefense program at Texas A&M University. Until this hiring Friday by TxDOT, he was a special adviser to the A&M board of regents.

Kimbrough has "a great track record," said state Rep. Joe Pickett, D-El Paso , chairman of the House Transportation Committee. "I know the guy. He's not going to take any (guff) from anyone, including me."

Wolf, aside from his long and varied service as a partner with Fulbright & Jaworski, has served on a number of corporate boards over the years, often as chairman. He has been in private law practice in Austin since 2004 . He served two terms on the Sunset Advisory Commission, starting in 2003 , as a Dewhurst appointee.

The massive review of TxDOT by Grant Thornton , one of the six largest accounting firms in the world, cited TxDOT's insular culture of engineers — overwhelmingly with degrees from the University of Texas and Texas A&M — as "a tremendous strength, but also can act as a tremendous inhibitor to internal change and to the ability to understand, accept and respond to an evolving external environment."


© 2010 Austin American-Statesman: www.statesman.com

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“If he doesn't want to debate, he should just say so instead of playing games like a typical career politician."

Governor hopefuls — but not Perry — will debate

7/2/10

By R.G. Ratcliffe
San Antonio Express-News
Copyright 2010

AUSTIN — The first debate in the Texas governor's race in this year general election will involve a pair of Houstonians in Kerrville on Monday — minus Gov. Rick Perry.

Democratic nominee Bill White and Libertarian Kathie Glass, both lawyers, are scheduled to face off in a Kerrville Area League of Women Voters debate at 7 p.m. at the Cailloux Theatre there.

The debate can be called a statewide event, in that anyone who wants to go to the KVHC-TV web site can watch it.

Kerrville Area League President Donna Robinson said Perry was invited but turned it down. Robinson said Perry can still show up Monday if he wishes.

Perry spokesman Mark Miner said the governor will not debate White until White releases his personal income tax returns for the years when he was assistant U.S. secretary of energy and Texas Democratic Party chairman, a period covering the mid-to-late 1990s. White has released his returns for the years when he was Houston's mayor.

“We will discuss debates when Bill White comes cleans with the people of Texas and releases his tax returns for his years on public service,” Miner said.

White spokeswoman Katy Bacon said Perry is just playing games to avoid a debate.

“Next he'll be asking for Bill's tax returns when he was running concession stands as a teenager, or saying he'll only debate if Glenn Beck is the moderator,” Bacon said. “If he doesn't want to debate, he should just say so instead of playing games like a typical career politician. “

Glass favors states rights, nullification of federal laws by the states if they consider them to be unconstitutional, an elimination of the public school property tax and state payments for Medicaid. Glass said Perry talks about states rights and less government spending, but “he really doesn't believe in it.”

Southern Methodist University political scientist Cal Jillson said White's decision to debate Glass is a “mixed bag.”

It gives White the opportunity to promote a candidate who might draw votes from Perry in the general election and highlight the fact Perry will not debate.

But Jillson said it also “caters to the idea that they are a little frantic and are taking the eye off of the ball, which is Rick Perry.”

© 2010 San Antonio Express-News: www.mysanantonio.com

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