By Dustin Fawcett
We all knew this election season was going to be a heated one. A tense federal election, multiple seats on both the Odessa City Council and the Ector County Utility District, and also two propositions. For Ector County voters, a lot of this can be overwhelming, especially with the proliferation of social media and direct text messages from the many campaigns.
I felt the need to speak out because one particular text message that was sent out several days ago in which directed voters to vote “no” on both the Odessa College bond proposal and Medical Center Hospital’s proposition to increase their tax cap to the state benchmark. My concern with this mass message to voters is the mass confusion it caused in an already information-overloaded election season, especially when my name is specifically listed on the text message, leading to even more confusion.
Please allow me to provide some clarity.
I want to preface this by saying I have already had a phone conversation with Mr. Jeff Russell, the Odessa businessman and activist who is responsible for these messages, and he has assured me that it was not his intent to confuse voters, especially in the way I am about to outline.
When the mass messages went out, our office was flooded with phone calls by dozens of confused voters. I am thankful that my office number was listed as it allowed me to have great conversations with the constituents I represent in our great community that I otherwise would not have had while also providing the clarity needed for the voters to be more informed before heading to the polls.
Here are some of the issues we encountered and how I handled them:
1) Voters called our office thinking they were able to cast their votes via phone. I was TREMENDOUSLY disturbed that voters were deceived to the point that they thought this was a proper voting mechanism. I was able to notify them that they must still go to the polls, listed the various locations, and provided additional information that the messages conveniently left out.
2) Voters called our office asking why “Judge Fawcett is now against our community,” with many expressing disappointment that I would send them such a message. I found hope in this in that they were confused because they have come to understand that I am working tirelessly to advocate for a better community in Ector County and in fact, have publicly supported both propositions on the ballot.
3) Voters called our office asking why Commissioners Court and Judge Fawcett put Odessa College and Medical Center Hospital’s propositions all on the same ballot. The voters, based on this message, were led to believe that I and the Commissioners Court are the ones in charge of all of these ballot measures. Whether fortunately or unfortunately, I, nor the Commissioners Court, have any authority over entirely separate taxing entities and what they put on the ballot.
4) Voters called to ask why the Medical Center Hospital was going to take over all of fire and emergency medical services in Ector County and why they needed to raise their taxes by 5 times. First, the ultimate goal of the MCH proposal is to allow a funding mechanism to build brick and mortar fire stations in the unincorporated areas of Ector County, of which we currently are relying solely on volunteers and runs from Odessa Fire Rescue. MCH will merely collect these county-wide taxes and pass them through to the City of Odessa as they will operate the county-wide services (which they are currently doing, but not collecting tax revenue for). The statement that the hospital will take over first responders is patently false and Mr. Russell knows that.
Secondly, the statement that MCH will raise taxes 5 times what it currently is happens to also be patently false. If you take a single minute to inform yourself on what the proposition’s goal is, you will find that the aim is to raise the hospital rate (which cannot take place until next November at an additional election) by 8 cents while the city simultaneously lowers theirs by 14 cents. If you are a city of Odessa resident, this would actually be a net property tax decrease of 6 cents. If you are in the unincorporated area of Ector County, this means we will finally have a pathway to save your life by funding professional and permanent fire and EMS services closer to where you live.
The message did include a truth in that Ector County Commissioners Court is considering issuing debt. Unfortunately, the message did not include that this debt issuance is for the construction of a new Courthouse to replace our non-ADA compliant, pipe bursting, bug infested, elevator non-working, over-capacity, asbestos infested, taxpayer-money draining courthouse. Additionally, these funds will complement the 2020 C.O. that was issued for a new Juvenile Detention facility, of which $26 million was not enough for a new build, so that we can accomplish what the 2020 Commissioners Court set out to do.
When voters asked about the debt issuance and I explained what it was for, not a single member of the public I spoke with had any issue with our action and in fact complimented the court vigorously and I heard “it’s about time y’all did something” from many of those.
The main question they had was why we had to issue debt to pay for the Courthouse and Juvenile Detention Facility. I explained that there is only two ways to fund a governmental project: cash or debt. While cash would certainly be preferred, we currently only have $25 million in our fund balance/in our reserves. Good accounting practices requires that number not to get below $18 million. So, theoretically, we only have a bout $7 million liquid to use for projects.
Ector County has historically maintained one of the lowest tax rates in the state by only levying enough taxes to fund government operations for that year. While this offers great benefits to homeowners, this also means that our fund balance/reserves have not grown enough to where we have significant cash on hand for projects such as these.
As mentioned before, I was thankful that I was able to clear my schedule when these calls flooded ours and Commissioners Court offices so that I could return each and every one and provide better information. I am proud to say that, when explained, the voters felt reassured in the actions by Commissioners Court to issue debt for the Courthouse and Juvenile Facility, they also were thankful that a partnership among taxing entities to take on the massive issue of emergency services in West Odessa, Pleasant Farms, Gardendale, and Goldsmith was being addressed through Medical Center’s proposition.
Due to my Judicial Canon of Ethics, as County Judge, I am not able to endorse specific candidates for election. However, I am able to throw support behind propositions. This means the city council races were never discussed in these phone calls, but I have no problem admitting I was proud to explain to these voters the benefit of investing in our workforce through Odessa College’s proposition A.
If any taxing entity has earned the trust of its constituents over the last decade and more, it is Odessa College. The proof is in the pudding. Odessa College is breaking records and earning recognition nationwide as a top 10 Junior College in the NATION multiple years in a row. Over 10,000 students enrolled, record certifications and graduations. Odessa College is building the workforce of both today and tomorrow.
As Ector County Judge, my job is to ensure that the civic infrastructure in our community is strong. This of course includes roads, our jail, judicial system, and many others. But this also includes ensuring that we have a viable workforce education program to accommodate the 190,000 in workforce population that is needed over the next 20 years, as has been shown by Dr. Ray Perryman in a recent economic analysis, is needed to keep our industry and our community running.
Dustin Fawcett is the Ector County Judge.
