What Would You Do if Somebody Ran Up a Big Tab on Your Credit Card, Told You to Pay It, and Just Shut Up with the Questions?  

Local Government will eat up any tax relief you thought the Legislature might give you. Here’s an example from our home base in Smith County, Texas.

“There is just an unbelievable lack of public planning, due diligence, transparency and an abject failure to talk about – much less resolve – the extreme backlog of promised County Road Bond Projects.  We’ve been waiting for months for the Commissioners Court to tell the public how they will make good on the promised roads. The public gets the sound of crickets.

“Add to that a lack of orderly planning to address the cost of staffing the new courthouse and ZERO interest in looking for ways to reduce spending – and we’ve got ourselves runaway spending in Smith County.

“There is ZERO consideration of taxpayers. That’s why Grassroots America Opposes Smith County Commissioners Court Approval of $25.6 Million in Downtown Investments with the Tyler Mayor and City Council. They have way too many high priced projects started and none completed. 

“Nobody with any sense would run a household or a business this way. It’s far past unacceptable.”

~ JoAnn Fleming, Executive Director and self-term-limited county commissioner

July 7, 2025 – Tyler, Texas  |  Today, Grassroots America’s Executive Director JoAnn Fleming sent to Smith County Judge Neal Franklin and County Commissioners notification of the organization’s strong objections to a $25.6 Million Downtown Investment scheme slated for a presentation, discussion and a potential vote on Tuesday, July 8, at a 2:00 PM special joint meeting of the Smith County Commissioners Court and the Tyler City Council.

According to the posted agenda, the Tyler City Council is asking the Smith County Commissioners Court to participate in a Capital Improvement Project with a $25.6 Million price tag along with approval of Public Square Lease and Use Agreements.

No drafts or planning documents were posted in the Commissioners Court agenda packet to allow the public an opportunity to review and provide public comments.  Moreover, the policy governing Downtown Square usage is a dedicated County responsibility – a responsibility that should not be abdicated nor rushed without full disclosure to taxpaying citizens, along with an opportunity for those citizens to consent or object.

Funding sources for the $25.6 Million in project costs and project details were not revealed in the agenda packet. 

When the Grassroots America Board of Directors met with County Judge Neal Franklin on May 9 to discuss budgetary concerns, he mentioned not a word about a $25.6 Million Downtown Tyler Investment project.

Grassroots America poses a sobering question:

Is this project in addition to the current massive taxpayer burdens to pay for the following:

• The Court House Bond of approximately $160 Million plus interest,
• The Parking Garage Bond of approximately $19 Million plus interest,
• Tax Increment Reinvestment Zones (TIRZ), dedicating tens of millions of dollars through years 2038 and 2047,
• The UNFINISHED2017 & 2021 Road Bond Projects of approximately $84.5 Million plus interest,
• and the FY2026 Budget and tax rate-setting process currently in progress?

Smith County taxpayers need and deserve better notification and transparency. Commissioners Drewry and Herod took office in January 2025, and these issues have not appeared on any agenda until now.

Why are Commissioners receiving details and being asked to vote the same day?  Why was no special evening public meeting planned to allow the public to see, hear, and ask questions about the project?

Taxpayers have every right to know how and why their tax dollars are being spent. At a minimum, the Commissioners Court should – in advance – fully disclose the content, cost, responsibilities, and contingent liabilities from these agreements and provide the opportunity for public comments on matters affecting every citizen.

Any action considered by the Court should be tabled until these steps have been completed.

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Candidate interviews now complete, we strongly endorse @DonHuffines for Texas Comptroller.

“Limited government, spending less, producing measurable results for taxpayers” are phrases that have disappeared from the lips of 99% of Texas Republican elected officials. The 89th Legislative Session continued the unhealthy pattern of wild spending to fund government growth and corporate welfare instead of sending the surplus back to Texans.

The Governors of Arkansas and Florida keep limited government at the policy and legislative forefront. We don’t hear or see any of that in Texas. It’s just the opposite.

It’s Time to Make LIMITED Government Great Again in Texas! A limited-government Comptroller who hates corruption, has a record of rooting it out, and has sent thieves to jail is exactly what Texas needs. Don Huffines has done that.

Turned loose to “DOGE” Texas government, Huffines can and will set a course-correcting standard from the office that is charged with certifying the state budget as balanced.

Huffines will put a bright spotlight on the creative bookkeeping and accounting gimmicks that keep state spending murky. He’s got the knowhow and the guts to push Texas toward responsible spending.

Don is uniquely qualified for the office of Comptroller. He doesn’t need the job. In fact, it will cost him millions in personal earnings to take on this mission, but his honed and proven free market executive management skills, business success, and decades of focus on tax and sound money issues are desperately needed in Texas.

Don Huffines loves Texas so much that he’s stepped up to Make Limited Government Great Again in Texas. We can’t wait to see him do it. #txlege

JoAnn Fleming, Executive Director, on behalf of the Grassroots America Board of Directors

More than a decade ago, the late, great Rush Limbaugh warned about the “chickification” of men. Rush said feminizing males would rot our culture. It has.

It began with symbolism over substance – in sports, education, the arts, entertainment, government, and even in churches.

Feelings eclipsed Truth. Political Correctness murdered Common Sense.

The constant assault on masculinity, the absence of strong male role models, and drive-by fatherhood have made far too many men hesitant, indecisive, and hyper-focused on feelings rather than results. It has also created petty, spoiled, mean, self-idolizing drama queens out of far too many females. That’s what happens when people decide they’re smarter than God.

The ultimate result? Prolific transgender nuttery, evil grooming and gender butchery of children, radical kooks who believe in unlimited variations of “fluid” genders and that a human can certainly identify as a chipmunk if they want to – and you’d better respect that identity and go along with it.

Men are not automatically toxic or barbaric. Men can be those things, but so can women.

This Father’s Day, let’s make it a priority to encourage men to honor God by possessing the role He created them to fill. God’s plan is always best.

Grassroots America agrees with the TX House regarding judicial pay raises. The TX Senate is wrong to insist on raising legislative pensions!

The House version of SB 293 rightly delinks legislative pensions from the salaries of state district judges!

This linkage was WRONG from the beginning. For decades, increases to legislative pensions were hidden from the public because increases in legislative pensions were directly tied to increases in state district judicial salaries.

The Texas Senate and @LtGovTX should support transparency and pull down their amendment to force a pension increase to all legislators. Concur with the House and get this done!

TX is NOT assisting Trump/Homan ICE. To date, only 15 out of 254 TX County Sheriffs have signed up for the new Trump/Homan 287g Task Force. (Receipts at ice.gov/identify-and-arrest/287g

That’s why Grassroots America supports the Rep. @DavidSpillerTX amendment to SB 8 Border Enforcement Bill up for a vote today in the TX House. TX law enforcement MUST assist Pres. @realDonaldTrump in delivering his voter-mandated border security and deportation results.

In his State of the State address, Gov. Abbott declared, “Today, we have a President who will partner with Texas to deny illegal entry. To support that mission, I have ordered Texas state agencies to assist the Trump Administration with arresting, jailing, and deporting illegal immigrants. We must also require cities and counties across the state to fully cooperate with these efforts.”

The @DavidSpillerTX floor amendment is absolutely necessary if TX is going to achieve the cooperation Gov. Abbott cited. Otherwise, it’s just words. Texans are tired of words with no real follow-through.

@DavidSpillerTX amendment to SB 8. Get it across the finish line!