The Four Most Important Bodies You Know Nothing About
While most of you are focused on city council, the state legislature, and commissioners court as the place for all your "I hate the government" angst, there are actual entities that are as important, and in some ways more important, that you don't know anything about.
Here's a quick countdown:
4. The Council of Judges - I know it sounds like something out of a DC comic but the COJ oversees several important court functions and sets a variety of policy. The stuff about indigent defense a while back made some people hip to its existence and their desire to sorta-kinda-when-its-convenient operate like its subject to the Open Meetings Act.
Its not.
Judge Patrick Garcia is the head judge right now. It wouldn't surprise me if they went in a different direction.
3. Your Local School Board - Yeah, this one you should know but lets be real, you don't know the name of the school board representative for your area. They leverage millions of your tax dollars, are responsible for the largest part of your tax bill, have the biggest policy impact on the day-to-day lives of your children, make some of the worst decisions possible, are usually incompetent with a budget, and have been involved with a range of scandals. Yet you don't learn and either vote the same fools back into office, or worse, don't vote in their elections at all. Many local school boards have elections coming up.
2. Water Boards - this one (along with Emergency Service Districts) doesn't apply to everyone, but they are nonetheless extremely powerful entities. They are usually as inept as school boards, but they control a very valuable resource...water. They are mini kingdoms and no one watches what they are doing and no one cares until there's a screw-up. Basically as long as no one messes up, they can pretty much do what they want.
1. The Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) - The MPO determines what mobility plans get funded and do more to shape the look, feel, and mobility of the region than any other body. Members are appointed from the state, county, and municipalities in the area, both in Texas and New Mexico. They leverage millions of dollars. They stream their meetings and honestly they are pretty boring unless you're a transportation nerd that likes that sort of stuff.
Here's a quick countdown:
4. The Council of Judges - I know it sounds like something out of a DC comic but the COJ oversees several important court functions and sets a variety of policy. The stuff about indigent defense a while back made some people hip to its existence and their desire to sorta-kinda-when-its-convenient operate like its subject to the Open Meetings Act.
Its not.
Judge Patrick Garcia is the head judge right now. It wouldn't surprise me if they went in a different direction.
3. Your Local School Board - Yeah, this one you should know but lets be real, you don't know the name of the school board representative for your area. They leverage millions of your tax dollars, are responsible for the largest part of your tax bill, have the biggest policy impact on the day-to-day lives of your children, make some of the worst decisions possible, are usually incompetent with a budget, and have been involved with a range of scandals. Yet you don't learn and either vote the same fools back into office, or worse, don't vote in their elections at all. Many local school boards have elections coming up.
2. Water Boards - this one (along with Emergency Service Districts) doesn't apply to everyone, but they are nonetheless extremely powerful entities. They are usually as inept as school boards, but they control a very valuable resource...water. They are mini kingdoms and no one watches what they are doing and no one cares until there's a screw-up. Basically as long as no one messes up, they can pretty much do what they want.
1. The Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) - The MPO determines what mobility plans get funded and do more to shape the look, feel, and mobility of the region than any other body. Members are appointed from the state, county, and municipalities in the area, both in Texas and New Mexico. They leverage millions of dollars. They stream their meetings and honestly they are pretty boring unless you're a transportation nerd that likes that sort of stuff.
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