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The Texas Legislature tried to severely limit the scope of TxDOT's re-review, however, in the first round it failed to adopt two key reforms the majority of the public asked for: ELECTED leadership to head TxDOT as well as an end to selling our public freeways to foreign entities using controversial contracts called Comprehensive Development Agreements also known as public private partnerships (PPPs), the financing mechanism that allows the Trans Texas Corridor to proceed and that results in toll rates as high as 75 cents PER MILE in urban areas. Both need to top our list of reforms in order to restore the trust the public has lost in this agency.
Remember this agency is responsible for:
- $1.2 billion dollar accounting error
- fraudulent environmental studies
- hiring lobbyists with taxpayer money to promote the Trans Texas Corridor, tolling, and privatizing our public roads by selling them to the highest bidder on Wall Street (that charge us 75 cents PER MILE to drive our PUBLIC roads)
The recent Grant Thornton management audit of TxDOT revealed a deep-seated belief among top management that TxDOT is doing everything right and its the public who doesn't get it and fails to understand how "right" the agency is. It also uncovered gross financial mismanagement that's so bad the auditors could not even verify TxDOT's financial reports, as well as a lack of consideration for saving taxpayers money by doing projects more efficiently and chronically high ratings for employee performance reviews despite nearly every department's failure to execute its duties up to minimum requirements/standards.
For ideas for comments, see our analysis of the most recent TxDOT audit here.
To review our prior comments to the Sunset Commission, go here and here.
To watch the sparks fly from the last sunset committee hearing on TxDOT go here.
Here's our take on what needs to be fixed at TxDOT:
1) We need ELECTED leadership at TxDOT
2) End inefficiencies, demand accountability, especially financial accountability using ZERO-BASED BUDGETING
3) An end to CDAs/PPPs that sell our Texas roads to private, foreign companies: TRANSPARENCY, NOT LIP SERVICE -- No more SECRET contracts; these contracts are STILL kept SECRET from the public until AFTER they're signed. Ending CDAs also includes an END TO “BEST VALUE” PROPOSALS (instead of awarding based on low bid), PAYMENTS TO LOSING BIDDERS, NON-COMPETE AGREEMENTS that forbid or penalize free road expansion surrounding toll roads, manipulation of SPEED LIMITS on free roads to drive more traffic to toll roads, and guaranteed profits.
4) NOT JUST PUBLIC “INVOLVEMENT,” BUT PUBLIC VETO POWER
TxDOT has NOT heeded the public feedback/opposition to tolling on the majority of toll projects around the state. Also, the highway lobby often attends meetings to make it appear there is more support for tolling than there actually is. Anyone with ties to the road building industry or whose company would potentially profit from the project should be required to disclose it when submitting comments or testimony.
5) End the reliance on tolling, debt & borrowing to build roads, and using taxpayer money to subsidize loser toll projects.
6) ABOLISH UNACCOUNTABLE RMAS, FIX MPOS that also fail to listen to and heed the public feedback