Tag Archives: revenue

Late Fee Follies (updated)

Leave a reply

In the earlier article today, I referenced $25 million in overcharges. So how did the City manage that trick? Well, stupidity and arrogance, of course.

Back in 2012-2013, the City Controller’s (Ron Green’s) office did an audit of UCS’s Water Meters and Transmitters. Seeing as they’re not particularly technically adept, it was really an audit of policies and procedures, not the mechanicals, but it was prompted by years of complaints by the customers of inaccurate meters. (They’re not. As I’ve said for years, the problems are with the transmitters, and, as will be obvious here, the business processes.) The summary of issues found reads as follows:

Continue reading →

I’m Sure it Was Unintentional (Not)

1 Reply

As we’ve all been told time and again, red light cameras are ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL about the safety, right? Well, KHOU reports that citizen Byron Schrimbeck found an odd safety violation near one camera, located at FM 518 and I-45 South, and decided to document it:

Texas law requires a light be yellow a certain length of time to safely give drivers time to react and stop.

Schirmbeck then called League City Police Chief Michael Jez and Jez asked The Texas Department of Transportation to investigate. TxDot found Schirmbeck was right about the yellow lights being short.

The eight-tenths of a second made a difference in more than 1,700 citations issued between October of last year and March.

Let’s read that again: The eight-tenths of a second made a difference in more than 1,700 citations. Now, this light was apparently supposed to be under the control of TxDOT. I guess that, since the article doesn’t tell us so. Nor does it tell us what the required minimum time is. But the important question is, who made out like bandits from this money-machine, for six months? Note that the article says refunds are being issued — but doesn’t say by whom. Follow the money, KHOU, follow the money. Doesn’t the state get a cut of it, these days? I’m sure League City gets the lion’s share.

One wonders if some bureaucratic tangle will “delay” the checks. Not that I have anything but total faith in the sincerity of our elected and unelected masters when they say “the check is in the mail.”