Sprite1127
New member
What is the name of your state? Texas
This really has more than one inquiry in it but it all ties in together which is why it is in one post.
1. Local city government has added a "donation" amount to monthly bill (gas, water, sewage, & garbage are paid to the city where I live) for one thing but use the money elsewhere. E.g. they add $3.00 to your bill for the fire department but then place the money in the city's general fund and none of it is used for fire department. We wouldn't mind if the money is actually being used for what it is supposed to be used for.
2. City councilman openly threatening townspeople who speak out against him during and after meetings.
3. Can the city pay for someone's education to become city manager using our tax dollars? E.g. the employee is currently answering phones and taking money but they want her to replace the current city manager when they retire and are paying for her education using funds from the general funds. She has no education other than high school diploma but they've hand pick someone and are using tax payer money to get her in office.
4. The city manager's son is assistant fire chief in another city and his father-in-law (also a county commissioner) is the fire chief in that same city. The council and the mayor and the manager and the two commissioners are trying to destroy our towns volunteer fire department to benefit the manager's son's fire department. (Too detailed to explain in depth, but essentially they want to appoint manager's son as chief here or send all of our equipment to other city's department)
5. 3 of 4 Council members, mayor and manager are all friends while the 4th works for the mayor's husband (who is also county commissioner).
6. Two county commissioners who are related to the mayor (spouse) and city manager (managers son married to commissioner's daughter), are using their status in the county government to back the changes in the city government. E.g. a new windfarm is being built, and the fire department in our town was to be given a donation to help with purchasing new equipment and such by the company y building the windmills. The commissioner who is fire chief in the other city redrew the fire map boundaries so that all money from windfarm will go to his department and the mayor and manager (his daughter's mother-in-law) and their friends on the council backed the map to move everything to the commissioner's department.
7. Funds assigned to certain things in the city are not being used for them (e.g. money allotted each year in the city budget for the fire department equipment is not going to the fire department and they do not allow them to purchase much needed equipment to replace outdated equipment).
Basically we want these people out office, all of them, before they do anymore damage or mis-spend more of our tax dollars. We don't feel it's right to have to use our money to pay for an employee's education to move up the ladder. We still have another year before election. We are fed up and people are scared to speak out. Is any of the above actions legal and if they are illegal, who can we report it to? We can't report these locally due to the "good old, boy network" and because we greatly fear the retribution that would follow; we know our lives would become a living hell for speaking out publicly. Many of us wishing to turn them in for these actions have lived her all our lives and also work here, our kids go to school here; this is our home. Many of us cannot simply pack up and move, it's just not an option.
Thank you in advance for your much needed advice.
This really has more than one inquiry in it but it all ties in together which is why it is in one post.
1. Local city government has added a "donation" amount to monthly bill (gas, water, sewage, & garbage are paid to the city where I live) for one thing but use the money elsewhere. E.g. they add $3.00 to your bill for the fire department but then place the money in the city's general fund and none of it is used for fire department. We wouldn't mind if the money is actually being used for what it is supposed to be used for.
2. City councilman openly threatening townspeople who speak out against him during and after meetings.
3. Can the city pay for someone's education to become city manager using our tax dollars? E.g. the employee is currently answering phones and taking money but they want her to replace the current city manager when they retire and are paying for her education using funds from the general funds. She has no education other than high school diploma but they've hand pick someone and are using tax payer money to get her in office.
4. The city manager's son is assistant fire chief in another city and his father-in-law (also a county commissioner) is the fire chief in that same city. The council and the mayor and the manager and the two commissioners are trying to destroy our towns volunteer fire department to benefit the manager's son's fire department. (Too detailed to explain in depth, but essentially they want to appoint manager's son as chief here or send all of our equipment to other city's department)
5. 3 of 4 Council members, mayor and manager are all friends while the 4th works for the mayor's husband (who is also county commissioner).
6. Two county commissioners who are related to the mayor (spouse) and city manager (managers son married to commissioner's daughter), are using their status in the county government to back the changes in the city government. E.g. a new windfarm is being built, and the fire department in our town was to be given a donation to help with purchasing new equipment and such by the company y building the windmills. The commissioner who is fire chief in the other city redrew the fire map boundaries so that all money from windfarm will go to his department and the mayor and manager (his daughter's mother-in-law) and their friends on the council backed the map to move everything to the commissioner's department.
7. Funds assigned to certain things in the city are not being used for them (e.g. money allotted each year in the city budget for the fire department equipment is not going to the fire department and they do not allow them to purchase much needed equipment to replace outdated equipment).
Basically we want these people out office, all of them, before they do anymore damage or mis-spend more of our tax dollars. We don't feel it's right to have to use our money to pay for an employee's education to move up the ladder. We still have another year before election. We are fed up and people are scared to speak out. Is any of the above actions legal and if they are illegal, who can we report it to? We can't report these locally due to the "good old, boy network" and because we greatly fear the retribution that would follow; we know our lives would become a living hell for speaking out publicly. Many of us wishing to turn them in for these actions have lived her all our lives and also work here, our kids go to school here; this is our home. Many of us cannot simply pack up and move, it's just not an option.
Thank you in advance for your much needed advice.
