Referendum to alter Prop 2 set for the ballot

As noted before, there will be a referendum on the ballot to alter the changes made to the city charter by 2004’s Proposition 2. Two referenda, actually:

Voters will decide whether to alter the revenue cap known as Proposition 2, which limits annual growth in all city revenue to the combined rate of population increase plus inflation.

[Mayor Bill] White wants voters to remove the cap from the city’s mostly self-sustaining “enterprise funds,” which pay for airports, the water and sewer system and convention facilities without using property taxes.

Property and sales taxes produce revenues in the general fund, which pays for core city operations such as police and fire protection, libraries and parks. Growth in the general fund is capped under a White-backed measure known as Proposition 1 that voters also approved two years ago.

“I want to run this city in a way that respects the basic intent of Prop 1 and Prop 2 and also allows us to remove any impediments in those propositions that mess up our ability to deliver basic public services,” the mayor said. “People can find common ground where we run the city in a fiscally conservative position.”

Voters also will be asked Nov. 7 to approve a second measure that would let the city raise $90 million in additional revenue that the mayor says might be needed to hire more police officers and fund a recent firefighter raise.

Fine by me. The voters can decide if they like the system as is, or if they would rather make these changes. It’s the democratic process, whether you like what it’s being used for or not.

Some deft politics here by the Mayor:

In an unusual move, the council postponed its final vote to 4 p.m., so White could meet with key Proposition 2 backers to build consensus.

The Proposition 2 proponents in the meeting – former Councilman Carroll Robinson, Republican state Senate candidate Dan Patrick, Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector Paul Bettencourt and local businessman Bruce Hotze – emerged disappointed that they only met with White on Wednesday.

Robinson said the group was heartened that White agreed in recent weeks to let the council scale back some of the proposed revisions. They also hoped the council might hold an emergency meeting Monday – the last time the panel could alter the ballot language by law – to address other concerns.

White said such an emergency meeting still is possible.

“He has come a long way down the road, but we didn’t make it all the way home,” Robinson said. “We’re willing to wait and hear what the mayor has to say.”

[…]

Councilman Michael Berry, who won passage of an amendment stating that water and sewer revenues can be spent only on that system, said the vote would let the city know precisely what voters wanted two years ago. Wiseman said voters had spoken on the cap in 2004 and that White’s rationale for the changes was overblown.

“To suggest that we have any impending doom is a misrepresentation,” she said.

But Berry said he doesn’t think most voters really wanted to cap airport and convention revenues, which some argue would stymie development of those systems.

“I feel comfortable and confident that we are capturing the essence of what voters intended, or at least the vast majority,” said Berry, who was initially skeptical of White’s plan.

If Mayor White can blunt the opposition, even a little bit, he’s a lot more likely to get these propositions passed. I doubt that the Hotze/Patrick/Bettencourt crowd will be mollified by this, but just keeping them from actively fanning the flames ought to be good enough. Having Berry on board can’t hurt. We’ll see how it goes from here.

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