March 14, 2025

After Smith County Commissioners Court Responds
to Our Questions on Road Bond Projects,
Reasonable, Unanswered Questions Remain!

On February 24, 2025, Grassroots America, called for a full public accounting of 2017 and 2021 Smith County Road Bond Projects, saying “Our audit revealed that the Smith County Road Plan promised to the taxpayers to be completed by 2026 is dramatically behind schedule and over budget. We call on the Smith County Commissioners Court to adopt a “business urgency” approach, work with the County Engineer to assemble all the facts and hold a public meeting in the very near future to inform citizens.”

On March 11, 2025, County Judge Neal Franklin’s Commissioners Court agenda included a non-action presentation from the County Auditor and County Engineer. Substantive questions remain unanswered.

• When will the promised projects be completed?
• What is the estimated cost of the remaining projects?
• Will unsold bonds cover the cost, excess cash reserves be used, or is a tax increase planned? What are the anticipated budgetary and taxpayer impacts?
• What percentage of the completed roads show signs of degradation? How much is due to poor drainage, poor workmanship, or damage caused by humans, animals, or weather?
• Is a one-year contractor’s bond adequate to protect taxpayers from substandard work?
• Why was the approximately $40 million in interest expense (a substantial cost to taxpayers) never acknowledged in the presentation?
• When, how and who will plan and update the Smith County Transportation Infrastructure Plan?

GRASSROOTS PRIORITIES

We’re Excited About Our Turbo-charged Accountability Tool!

Our GrassrootsPriorities.com website has expanded from an activist tool which allows you to quickly and effectively communicate with Texas legislators and statewide officials into a transparency tool that gives you the ability to easily do your own research into Texas Legislative Sessions!
 
We give you (and your organization) the ability to investigate legislation, legislators, committees, funders of legislators, and lobbyist activity.
 
On each page or tab selected from the top of the menu, you will find a “How to Use” video along with a “Got Questions About This Page?” link in the top right-hand corner.

This citizen empowering accountability tool is something Executive Director and co-founder JoAnn Fleming has long wanted for the conservative grassroots. This is a self-governance tool that can help you verify what legislators and campaign consultants say!
 
After so many years working alongside many of you, JoAnn is very thankful that we can offer this amazing tool to you at no charge.  Note that it isn’t behind a paywall, and no super-secret access code is required. We’ve made it easy to access and are now making it easy for you to learn how to use it! 
 
Our prayer is that you will use this transparency tool to 1) discover for yourselves which Republicans are really TransPublicans (party-confused; red jersey elephants who govern like donkey drag queens) and 2) hold your legislators and political consultants accountable. 
 
Seek, find, share Truth! 

Texas Legislature Online (TLO) is also a useful tool to set up bill alerts on the issues that most interest you. 

Do you need help getting started using Texas Legislature Online (TLO)? Are you having trouble setting up your own My TLO account to track Bills during the 89th #TXLEGE? Are you just looking for a good overview of the features available to you on TLO?

If you answered YES to any or all three of these questions, check out our 2025 Texas Legislature Online Handbook in an easy to use flipbook format. You can use this resource online, print a hard copy or even print to PDF.