March 14, 2025

RE: 3.11.2025 SMITH COUNTY COMMISSIONERS COURT PRESENTATION ROAD BOND PROJECTS

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS ABOUT SMITH COUNTY ROAD BOND PROJECTS

SMITH COUNTY JUDGE AND COMMISSIONERS:

On February 24, 2025, Grassroots America, called for a full public accounting of Smith County Road Bond Projects, saying “After receiving numerous complaints from Smith County citizens, we conducted an audit of Smith County Road Bond project documents. Our audit revealed that the Smith County Road Plan promised to the taxpayers 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.”

• The Phase 1 bond ($39.5 million) promised 376.5 miles of improved roads.
  • Only 204.5 miles were completed with bond funds
  • $3.5 Million of supplemental funding had to be applied to complete the additional 175.2 miles of basic maintenance.
• The Phase 2 Bond ($45 million) promised 282.2 miles of improved roads.
  • Just 99.1 miles have been completed to date
  • Just 38.4 miles are contracted or planned to date
  • Nearly 145 additional miles have not yet been contracted.
  • Supplemental funding of $10 million has already been appropriated

What was missing from the March 11th presentation were several critical points GAWTP had previously requested to be discussed. The failure to address these has clouded the goal of total transparency on the financials and deliverables.

1. The presentation stated a commitment to “complete the Smith County Road Bond Program.” Specific completion dates were not presented nor even discussed. The public has no benchmarks against which progress can be measured or against the FY26 completion, which was promised to the voters as the expected deliverable.
2. The financial report documented the current funding balance and additional $20 million of bond sale authorizations. However, there was no estimate of the funding required to complete those improvements due to inflation or other factors. Transparency requires both notification and quantification of risk.
3. Degradation has been reported on projects already completed. There was no discussion on this potentially significant financial risk to the taxpayers. There was no discussion regarding a need to perhaps extend the County’s current practice of a one-year contractor’s bond to two years. Again, this is an important topic that should have been discussed to protect taxpayer investments. Transparency requires a full discussion of project quality and what can be done to protect taxpayers.
4. The response to the above three issues will define the taxpayer exposure to the potential Interest & Sinking Fund (I&S) tax rate increase in the FY 2026 budget. Transparency requires disclosure of I&S tax rate impact as soon as possible so that the Commissioners Court can get to work cutting costs in other areas of the County Budget to ease the burden on taxpayers.
5. The Auditor reported that $2.2 million in Interest Income has been earned from the bond fund investments. This was new, and good, news. However, what was missing from the report was the approximately $40 million in interest expense, an incremental cost to the taxpayers. Full transparency requires both good and bad news.
6. No official has been charged with updating the strategically important Transportation Infrastructure Plan. That is critically important to prevent future crises that may require additional bond propositions. Full transparency in problem solving requires both short- and long-term strategic plans. (Should the Commissioners Court utilize a community task force approach, we strongly recommend that contractors who intend to bid on future projects or who have financial interests in those bidding companies are disqualified from serving on the task force.)

Unfortunately, the Court’s agenda packet did not include the slide deck. No opportunity was thus available to analyze or reinforce these concerns under “public comments.” Public comments can often stimulate the Court’s deeper discussions or an exploration of new concerns.

Moreover, this was styled on the agenda as a “presentation” agenda item, not a “discuss, consider and take any necessary action” item. There will be no opportunity for public comments or formal debate for SIX MONTHS until the first semi-annual update. Road conditions affect virtually everyone, every day. Road conditions are important not just to residents and businesses but to those providing public services – schools, emergency services, and law enforcement.

The taxpaying citizens of Smith County want, need, and deserve better from the Smith County Commissioners Court. A schedule of pending road projects must indicate to taxpayers WHEN and HOW the specific roads they travel every day will be fixed. Transparency depends upon our remaining six questions being fully discussed in public and answered.

We strongly urge members of the Smith County Commissioners Court to require full transparency of themselves as the administrators of Smith County.

Thomas Fabry, Board Member
Chairman, Government Watchdog Committee

February 25, 2025

Grassroots America Calls for Public Accounting
of Smith County Road Bond Projects

Tyler, Texas – Grassroots America, a statewide conservative public policy and citizen action group based in Smith County, Texas, today called for a full public accounting of Smith County Road Bond Projects, saying “After receiving numerous complaints from Smith County citizens, we conducted an audit of Smith County Road Bond project documents. Our audit revealed that the Smith County Road Plan promised to the taxpayers is dramatically behind schedule and over budget. There appear to be examples of “completed” road surfaces that differ from the improvements promised. Some completed projects are already showing signs of deterioration. The lack of financial and operational transparency in scheduling these road bond projects and reporting to taxpayers is just flat out unacceptable. Smith County taxpayers deserve better. 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.”

Have Smith County taxpayers received their money’s worth?

Grassroots America conducted a review of both Phase 1 and Phase 2 Road Bond Project documents that were publicly available on the Smith County web site and other documents we received in response to a Public Information Act Request.

The analysis posed troubling findings in both the miles of roads repaired and the cost of repairs when compared to published approved project lists.

• The Phase 1 Road Bond Program provided $39.5 million and proposed 376.5 miles of major reconstruction and widening, HMAC (Hot Mix Asphalt Concrete) overlay and reconstruction and miscellaneous improvements. According to the Phase 1 Bond summary, the county spent all $39.5 million to improve 204.5 miles of roadways, leaving a balance of 172 miles.
• The Phase 2 Road Bond Program provided another $45.0 million to be spent in FY23, FY24 and FY25. Approved projects specified another 282.2 miles of road improvements. The county is now nearly half-way through the project calendar. The status report dated January 6, 2025, documents that just a third of the promised miles – 99.1 miles – have been completed. Only seventeen (17) additional miles are under contract and a mere seventeen (17) other miles are even planned to date!
• To summarize, $98 million in financial commitments have improved 478.8 miles of the 658.7 promised miles of improvements (a shortfall of 179.9 miles). Just nineteen (19) months of the six-year road bond plan remains. Unfortunately, the County has not been transparent and forthcoming regarding either the performance shortfall or potential financial risk.

In addition to apparent slippage in the schedule and cost overruns, a non-scientific review of
the quality of improvements completed to date generate additional concerns. Segments of
completed roadways are already showing deterioration. In addition, improvements in other segments do not appear adequate to handle the volume and type of traffic experienced. Both issues indicate potential problems and financial exposure in the near future.

Grassroots America is publicly reporting our findings and concerns in response to the citizen
complaints we received. Our aim is to call attention to these increasingly serious issues, and to encourage a public accounting of the situation with a full discussion of solutions.

Much has changed since the project plans and bonds were approved. The County Engineer has been redirected to help oversee the courthouse construction project. Inflationary pressures have impacted both material and labor costs. Population and industrial growth have increased faster than projected. While these factors directly impact cost management, these factors in no way excuse the lack of disclosure to the taxpayers. Smith County received $44.5 million from the Biden Administration’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Reasonable questions arise regarding the use of this funding as well as the priorities the Smith County Commissioners Court placed on projects other than county roads.

Recommendations
Smith County citizens deserve and rightfully demand quality road infrastructure that provides safe and convenient transportation around the county. Today, Grassroots America petitions the Smith County Commissioners Court to:

• Provide the current status of funded road improvements, assess known concerns, summarize bond fund balances, specify any needed supplemental financing, and report a revised timeline to completion.
• Convene a public workshop that includes County Judge Neal Franklin, all four County Commissioners, the County Engineer, any required Road and Bridge staff, and the County Auditor to:
  • Vet and agree upon the County’s current ability to complete Phase 2 projects on time and on budget.
  • Prepare an updated project plan with dates and road segments through FY26.
  • Communicate the revised plans, dates to completion, and road standards to Smith County citizens the same way the road bond plan was “sold” to the voters – in community town hall meetings held around the county.
• Assign responsibility to revise the county’s long-range Transportation Infrastructure Plan, which was instituted under former County Judge Nathaniel Moran. The multi-year plan should ensure that the County’s road infrastructure meets the scope, quality, and financing necessary to adequately address the projected needs of the taxpayers. The updated long-range plan must contain specific road construction, surface maintenance, and drainage standards to accommodate East Texas soils, weather conditions, and population density.
• Utilize the road facts collected to set budget priorities for the next fiscal year and to construct a Business Plan for the Smith County Commissioners Court. This will set measurable performance expectations for the County’s governing body as well as demonstrate the Commissioners Court’s willingness to “lead by example.”

Finally, the dedicated Smith County Road and Bridge Engineer and his employees deserve the right tools, training, and consistent management from the Smith County Commissioners Court. We are deeply concerned that Mr. Davis’s attention has been redirected from his job – the Smith County Road and Bridge Department – to the courthouse construction project.

It is time to right this ship, which is badly “off course.” Smith County citizens need to see competence and caring from the Smith County Judge and Commissioners.

Thomas Fabry, Board Member
Chairman, Government Watchdog Committee

Thank you to all the volunteers who attended the October 18^th library board meeting – the last one of this year!  There were about 50 people in attendance and as usual we were the overwhelming majority.

Sadly, we now know the library board has gone from bad to worse. They unanimously made the horrible decision to KEEP the book called “People Kill People” in the 14+ section. In case you’ve forgotten, here is the link to excerpts from it  Dirty Book #5 People Kill People.

Anyone who would like to send a professionally-worded email to the city manager about this book is welcome to do so by emailing Ed Broussard at ebroussard@tylertexas.com.

The next board meeting will likely be in mid- to late-January.  We will keep up the pressure by submitting book reconsiderations until we get more results.   Stay tuned for more information.

THANKS SO MUCH for your ‘Never Say Die’ persistence!

Citizens Speak Out in Letters to the Editor

If you are a subscriber to the Tyler Morning Telegraph, you should have noticed articles and letters to the editor about the Tyler Library controversy. Informed citizens sent in great letters that countered misinformation about “book banning,” which is an intellectually lazy buzzword coined by the Left and used by officials who should know better.  Moving books OUT of a section of the library used by minor-aged children is NOT book banning!

How many times must we repeat this fact:  Under the law, children cannot give consent to sexual activity! Sexual activity with a minor-aged child is rape.   It therefore follows that minor children cannot give consent to having their minds and emotions raped by sexually explicit, pervasively vulgar books. What about this concept is too hard for Tyler City officials to grasp?

Inspired? Send your own letter

(limited to 250 words) to the editor:

santana@mrobertsmedia.com and to
opinion@tylerpaper.com

NOW, GOOD STUFF YOU NEED TO KNOW

 We have compiled and posted resources for you!

So far, our elected officials have managed to evade direct contact with actual constituents – the voters and taxpayers who have every interest and right to speak out about library standards.  This is especially true when it comes to sexually explicit, pervasively vulgar books that are accessible to minor children.

We are hearing from Tyler residents that city council members are turning down the opportunity to attend coffees and meetings in neighborhoods if the subject matter is going to be “the library.”  We find that appalling.  Don’t you?

Isn’t it interesting how friendly these people are when they are campaigning and looking for endorsements?  EVASION is NOT a good look for an elected official!

The mayor and council members have refused to even put this topic on a City Council Agenda to discuss!  That means they have NEVER legally discussed the issue; therefore, the matter remains unresolved!

Let’s give them another chance!  Interested in inviting your Mayor and Tyler City Council member to an informal meeting in your district?

Click here to see how to organize your own informal “meet and greet” with your city councilman and/or the mayor.

Click here to see which Tyler City Council district you live in! Learn if your council member is up for re-election!

Click here to read WHY we keep saying that our requests are reasonable. Hint:  Texas law backs us up!

Click here for our library project talking points and objectives! All concerned citizens can use these in letters to the editor, in posts to social media, in conversations with neighbors, family and friends, and at a neighborhood coffee with your city council member and/or the mayor.  Share them!

At the end of this exercise, we will either learn that our elected officials are interested in hearing what we have to say, interested in managing city business lawfully, OR we’ll learn that they are still hiding from their responsibilities and ducking their oath of office!

Let’s have an honest conversation about this!

Your Library Project Team Leaders:

Dee Chambless

Christine Bentley

Tom Fabry

Toni Fabry

Ever wonder what a real election audit would reveal?

We did, so our local government watchdog committee got to work to organize and execute a thorough audit of the 2020 Smith County General Election.

“To summarize, there were serious problems with records management and chain of custody controls on virtually every aspect of the 2020 General Election processes:  provisional ballots, military/overseas ballots, limited ballots.  Logs were missing, yielding incomplete and inaccurate records management.  The record boxes were an embarrassment.  Smith County’s slogan is ‘Striving for Excellence.’  This was NOT excellent!

“The team focused on Absentee voters because there were paper records to audit.  The same problems existed with In-Person voters, but the machine records were not available or auditable.  Who knows the magnitude of those problems?” JoAnn Fleming, Executive Director

Read Mrs. Fleming’s entire statement to the Smith County Commissioners Court.

Election Audit Chair, Tom Fabry’s Audit Summary.

View the Public Forum Presentation Materials that were presented at the GAWTP meeting on February 13, 2023.

Watch the Channel 7 KLTV News story on the audit.

The next phase of this project will include the creation of an exportable Audit Template that can be used in any Texas county to conduct a similar audit.

If you are interested in working with our team as a Beta tester in your county please contact Tom Fabry at tcfabry@yahoo.com. Serious inquires only please – as this is a time and labor intensive process!