Under different circumstances, investigating nearly 1,000 Texas cities’ financial transparency might be something to celebrate. It could be good for residents struggling with ever-rising property tax bills.
But there’s a certain irony, and plenty of cause for skepticism, because it’s Attorney General Ken Paxton doing the sleuthing — in the midst of his bid for a U.S. Senate seat, no less.
This year, Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law Senate Bill 1851. The law prohibits Texas municipalities from raising property taxes above the no-new-revenue rate if the attorney general determines a municipality hasn’t complied with audit and financial statement requirements.
It’s a smart, succinct measure that doesn’t add a lot of new regulatory burdens to local governments. Paxton’s office announced the compliance initiative this month.
Opinion
With any luck, Dallas will pass Paxton’s smell test without much of a problem. After the AG’s announcement, the city added a new webpage that contains Dallas’ two most recent audits and financial statements and other related documents, this newspaper reported.
Making sure Texas cities aren’t doing anything financially shady makes a lot of sense, there’s just one little hiccup. Paxton’s track record is full of financially shady shenanigans.
Paxton claimed multiple primary residences in mortgages, The Associated Press reported this year. That allowed him and his estranged wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, to secure lower interest rates on their homes. The two are now in the midst of divorce.
There’s also been an investigation by The Texas Tribune and ProPublica. It found that Paxton’s office has become increasingly reliant on costly external counsel, instead of the hundreds of attorneys it employs. One contracted lawyer cost state taxpayers $24,570 for six and a half hours of work.
Oh, and Paxton has faced felony securities fraud charges. In the end, he came to an agreement with prosecutors to drop the cases in exchange for him paying restitution, performing 100 hours of community service and taking classes on legal ethics.
Who knows. Maybe the legal ethics classes transformed Paxton into an expert in financial integrity. We doubt it, though.
Our concern is that Paxton could use this financial integrity initiative as a smokescreen to harass municipalities already put upon by the state government that seems intent on undermining home rule. It wouldn’t be fair to move the goal posts on what they must do to remain in good financial standing.
It would be wonderful if SB 1851 and Paxton’s investigations led to better financial accountability in Texas cities. That’s wishful thinking.
Trusting the man who wriggled out of an impeachment on a farce to handle anything related to integrity is akin to handing the keys to your wine-sodden uncle on New Year’s Eve.