Arlington term limits could cost the city big down the line

Making foster kids’ holidays brighter

The Christmas Wish Project of Tarrant County has been serving the county’s foster children for longer than 29 years, and this year it has provided gifts for more than 1,000 children housed in foster homes.

New recipients are added as they enter the custody of Child Protective Services. Last year, the total grew to 1,200 children.

Congratulations to Becky Haskin, Wendy Dalton, Gail Tidwell, Amy Helling and Kristin Anglin for spearheading this 100-percent nonprofit group with no administrative costs or salaries, donated warehouse space and several hundred volunteers. Every dollar is poured into gifts.

The pain of being separated from family and siblings is softened by a present that gives the child some joy and feelings of being loved. The lead volunteers use their own money to purchase gifts throughout the year, with the faith that donations will help offset the expenses.

Please check out the program at christmaswishproject.com and get involved.

Term limits could hit your wallet

Residents of Arlington may soon face unexpected consequences of extreme term limits. As the city prepares to issue bonds (borrow money) to begin or complete programs such as clean water, flood control, public safety, streets and more, a proposal is submitted to the bond market, which will assess the proposal and issue a bond rating.

Bond ratings are directly tied to interest rates on bonds issued. The bond market is very risk-averse. The stability and experience of the governing body are of primary concern. The sudden change in Arlington’s governance structure, following a long, stable history, sends a negative message to the market.

It’s quite probable Arlington will receive a downgrade on its bond rating. Remember, the higher the rating the lower the interest rate on money borrowed. The lower the rating, the higher the interest rate.

That’s a not-unexpected consequence. Residents of Arlington, your taxes are about to go up.

Keep it going all year long

Our hearts are touched each December by the plights of single-parent families, usually headed by women, who apply for needed assistance.

But the struggles for these needy families continue after Christmas as well. And there are probably other families that don’t apply.

It seems to me there is a vital need to be filled — to give them a hand up, not a handout, all year long. To help them cope with ongoing problems of employment, health care, dietary needs and more. To help them deal with things such as missing child-support payments from absent fathers.

That could be a role for local churches and social-service agencies that might be able to reduce the number of family units who that need help each year.

The biggest Trump accomplishment

Columnist Richard Greene gets it right on President Donald Trump’s most favorable outcomes (Dec. 16, 5B, “An outcomes-based presidency: I like what Trump’s done”), and one of them is absolutely without argument the most important of all: jobs, jobs, jobs.

U.S. unemployment is at its lowest level since 1969, and jobs are still being created at a steady pace. Without a household income, all other favorable outcomes don’t seem very important.