Tarrant County commissioners rescind approval of bond for $59 billion landfill company
Tarrant County commissioners voted Tuesday to rescind the approval of part of a bond package for a $59 billion landfill company on grounds that it did not receive sufficient public notice.
The failure to give sufficient notice to the public came to light in the course of the Star-Telegram’s reporting on the bond after it came up in commissioners court in the June 4 session. Court documents for the bond package showed that a representative for the Star-Telegram testified to publication of the notice in the April 5 edition of the paper, but it never actually ran.
The $133 million tax-exempt bond would allow Phoenix-based Republic Services Inc. to improve their landfills across Texas, including one in Tarrant County. Each county with a Republic Services landfill had to approve their portion of the bond.
The failure to publish was due to a technical error, according to Tony Berg, chief revenue officer for McClatchy, the Star-Telegram’s parent company, who said, “We regret the error and are taking steps to ensure this does not happen again.”
Governmental bodies like the county commissioners court must provide notice to the public at least 72 hours before a public hearing, per the Texas government code.
After tabling the item until after discussion in executive session on June 4, commissioners voted 4-0 in favor of the bond package. Precinct 4 Commissioner Manny Ramirez was not present at that session.
It was unclear whether the bond package would be canceled as a result of the commissioners’ vote to rescind. The Mission Economic Development Corp., which is issuing the bond, did not return a call seeking comment.
Before the vote and public comments on Tuesday, Precinct 2 Commissioner Alisa Simmons expressed regret at having supported the bond package in the previous court session.
“I voted against my better judgment,” Simmons said.
She initially opposed the bond on grounds that she was not sufficiently briefed on it, but voted in favor after discussion in executive session.
“Let me say some things I should have said two weeks ago,” she said on Tuesday.
Simmons acknowledged the issue of the Star-Telegram failing to print the notice of public hearing, but also called out “insufficient due diligence” on the part of county staff.
“We have to be better at verifying all information submitted to this court is accurate, but I think there is a bigger issue at play here,” she said. “There’s no constituency that I’m aware of in Tarrant County clamoring for Republic Services to save money on getting tax free bonds. … It seems that we’ve gotten into the habit in this county of adding things to the agenda that will benefit corporations without ever asking if that’s doing anything for our residents.”
Former state Rep. Lon Burnam, a Democrat from Fort Worth, gave a similar complaint during public comment on the item, saying it was “inappropriately” put on the agenda.
The bond deal was “probably a bad contract and not in the public interest,” he said. “I don’t want to get up here and say ‘I told you so’ on a regular basis, but today, I told you so.”
Fort Worth resident Reed Bilz also spoke against the bond, citing the insufficient public notice and lack of information on the project.
“I am speaking today to remind you that Commissioner Simmons and committed citizens are watching what this Court is doing and coming before you on a regular basis to express our valid concerns,” she said.
