Category: Uncategorized

Paris Texas’ neighborhoods are under attack. Blight and decay are waging war, and the City of Paris is losing it. In desperation, the city changes ordinances, policies and focus, concerning substandard and obsolete housing and vacant commercial properties, because, in general, as a community, we do not know what to do.

So, we do dumb things.

One is being really good at creating barriers of regulations, making it difficult for owners to repair, improve, or sell their property.

The city has an obligation of reasonable and equal applications for all taxpayers and home owners; therefore, it’s time to repair and upgrade ordinances:

  • – First, prohibit the city from adopting or enforcing an order, ordinance, or other regulation that requires an owner of a vacant building to obtain a permit to conduct repairs to the building if the repairs are necessary to: (a) protect public safety; or (b) prevent further damage to the building; (2) prohibit the city from requesting state officials to exempt the city from this prohibition by an executive order issued under the Texas Disaster Act; (3) provide that an owner of a vacant building who is required to obtain a permit in violation of this prohibition may: (a) bring an action against the city that violated this ordinance for damages incurred due to the violation; and (b) recover reasonable attorney’s fees and litigation costs if the owner prevails in the action; and (4) waives governmental immunity of the city to suit and from liability to the extent of liability created by this prohibition.
  • – Next, prohibit the city from adopting or enforcing an order, ordinance, or other regulation that requires an owner of a vacant building, when repairing damage to the building, to improve the building to a condition that is better than would have been legally acceptable before the damage occurred, including by requiring conformance to updated building code standards; (2) prohibit the city from requesting state officials to exempt the city from this prohibition by an executive order issued under the Texas Disaster Act; (3) provide that an owner of a vacant building who is required to improve the building in violation of this prohibition may: (a) bring an action against the city for violation of this ordinance for damages incurred due to the violation; and (b) recover reasonable attorney’s fees and litigation costs if the owner prevails in the action; and (4) waive governmental immunity of the city to suit and from liability to the extent of liability created by this prohibition.

These changes, of course, will not solve all the problems of older neighborhoods, but it’s a start on holding our own, at least.

It certainly beats forcing taxpayers to subsidize $200,000 homes – and calling the foolishness “affordable housing’.

But, WHY deny the right of a property owner to repair their private property? Especially, when the city allowed the property to decline to a point where it needs repairs?

There are only two reasons to penalize the improvement of property: Greed for fees or stupidity.

 IF we’re honest, looking back squarely, 29-years of cronyism have created the worst period of growth in the history of Paris, Texas.

It has been worse then the years after the Great Fire of 1916, a period of solid growth in Paris.

Paris is not meeting the expectations of her citizens.

We’re not getting our money’s worth.

It’s a failure of what we have done, and are doing.

Counting the lies leading up to citizen’s approval of the Paris Economic Development Corporation (PEDC), in November, 1993, Paris has enjoyed a lot of lies, broken promises, double dealings, and other semi-legal actions; all earning the community a well-deserved reputation in certain circles.

And now, the PEDC is spewing more double-talk than the Coronavirus has variants.

First, it repeats what the Paris Texas Chamber (and others) has said for years:

“Building a speculative building is foolish.  (EDCs don’t know what a prospect might require anymore than a cross-eyed stone-age Snapping Turtle.)

Now, the PEDC is agreeing with what we’ve said, but are –

–  also handing out at least $52,000 for designs that it claims can be later used to finish out a planned “flexible, bare-bone building“ –

Seems every time the PEDC meets, the Paris Chamber learns something new. Imagine our surprise to discover that a “flexible, bare-bone building” is not a speculative building. After all these years, we learn that both Gertrude and Willie were wrong: A rose is not a rose and the smell is not sweet.

The PEDC adds injury by saying this will save millions of dollars – !!?? (It also said said the foundation of the old Oliver Rubber plant would save money, too.)

We’re suppose to trust them.

On what? Transparency? Honesty? Double-talk? Stupidity?

The PEDC is a community representative that has said and done things that would make Joe Biden blush.

The PEDC has always been a conspiracy of cronies.

This time, cronies in the PEDC, who are cronies with cronies in the McKinney Texas office of a locally headquartered Paris firm, dreamed up a scheme to design floor-plans that can be used in different ways to finish out a pre-built (not speculative, of course, but a pre-built) building.

This way, the conspirators explain, an unknown future user – in some unknown future – can pick one of the interior configurations (or furnish their own), which, they add, can be completed “in a very short time.”

Knowing the pre-built building as they will, the bet should be that the cronies who will build the “pre-built” building, will do the act of completing the spec – uh – pre-built building, which may have to be  rebuilt to rid it of wasps, dirt-daubers, nesting pigeons, sparrows, field mice, and lots of East Texas’ Creepy-Crawlies.

Local suckers … uh … taxpayers provide the money.

Local politics at work.

Cronyism.

 

In our community ignorance, some refer to the PEDC as the “economic engine” of Paris. They’re off-track. It’s a twisted concept that does harm: Economic development corporations were never intended to be the driving force – in charge – of solicitation, decision-making on awarding incentives, and financing.

An ethical conflict exist in doing all three.

Describing the PEDC as the local “economic engine” is a personal editorial. It misses their purpose: EDCs were to serve as the community’s bankers.

EDCs were to be responsible for doing due diligence for the community on every prospect: Determining credit-worthiness, assets, products, market acceptance of products, etc., of an endeavor – before recommending incentives or arranging financing. This was to protect the taxpayer’s – and their money – and later doing verification; making sure that the terms of the agreement are met to protect the taxpayer’s money.

Even though there are positive models to follow, Paris insists on pursuing programs that have failed to build the community. Examples include

  • keeping ordinances in effect that the city does not enforce equally;
  • establishing re-investment zones in areas where no investment has been made (except the land cost), while ignoring numerous substandard neighborhoods
  • diverting tax dollars from the public base to subsidize private businesses
  • giving tax relief to a few, while forcing others to pay more
  • giving, in cash, tax dollars as incentives; etc.

Not one of those activities can pass the “equal treatment” test.

But until enough potential voters grow tired of their ox being gored, Paris will continue to elect (and appoint) those who act to take money from a lot of pockets and put it in a few selected pockets.

It isn’t charges of corruption that exist so much as it is the costs of notorious and appalling duplicated ‘improvement efforts’ that end up opaque or wasted. For instance, the city, the PEDC, and what used to be the Chamber of Commerce of Lamar County, all three, claim to do “economic” development.

Yet, they seem to never see the wasted efforts, time and money, or understand that “too many cooks spoil the broth.”

No wonder so little is actually accomplished that economically improves the lives of all our citizens.

There is order in all things.

The “economic engine” is the community – which is made up of a lot of working parts: The PEDC is just one of many.

Without the community, the PEDC would not even exist.