06/04/09
Watkins vs County of Dallas -
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District Attorney Craig Watkins wasn't taking a team player approach in his dealings with the County Commissioners Court, who have instructed all departments to cut their budgets 10% in an attempt to compensate for the tax revenue shortfalls being experienced by almost all governmental agencies, when he told department employees, according to the Dallas Morning News, that the effort was "smoke and mirrors" and that "We are special."
Craig Watkins 
Mike Cantrell 
Tuesday's DMN brought word that Watkins had tempered his expectations, but, according to longtime Commissioner John Wiley Price, maybe not enough. In the same article Watkins announced that he would be holding town hall meetings in each of the commissioner's districts.
The first such meeting is tonight. Garland citizens and others will have opportunity to judge the tussle for themselves at 7 p.m., Garland City Hall, 200 N Fifth St, where Watkins and County Commissioner Mike Cantrell, a Garland resident, will speak.
It is a classic discussion: where do we set the balance between too much taxes and too little security. Obviously that balance is different for each person but where does it settle community wide?
Things get boring quite often at City Hall. Maybe we're destined for excitement and enlightenment tonight.
UPDATE: I have seen the Council Chamber crowded with standing room only numerous times. I did not expect to find that tonight but such was the case. I was able to grab a seat next to Council members Rick Williams and Laura Cox. Four other Council members were also present.
The meeting did not start on time but by 7:45, Mr Watkins was still talking or asking his staff to talk. There is much more going on than we learned in this meeting. Mr Watkins does not come off as a professional. He presented some very selected "facts," but spent much of his monologue attacking ghosts that were not present. In a love/hate teeter-totter, he variously took shots at the media, at the Commissioners Court, at Republicans, his predecessor, and even audience members.
His claim is basically that his department is being asked to cut their budget. He claims that 96% of his budget is for personnel. If he cuts the 10% the county is asking, then he would be forced to cut personnel. If he cuts personnel, we would all be less safe. He and his staff is asking the Commissioners Court to set priorities and to make his department a priority.
Commissioner Cantrell was eventually able to speak where he presented information from the county's perspective. His presence may not have even been welcome. He only learned of the meeting late Tuesday. He reported that Mr Watkins was the only department head that had not met with the commissioners or the budget office. Other departments had made cuts, many at amounts greater than they were being asked.
Commissioner Cantrell complemented the District Attorneys Office and asked how many were present from that office. Numerous people stood, spanning the whole room. As many as 20% of the audience could have been just from the District Attorneys Office. Many others were clearly "invited guests," not Garland or area residents.
Two camera crews were there from local networks. It will be interesting to see if the dozens of plants in the audience is revealed in the reports.
Mr Watkins kept repeating that the budget issue was not about him, "Even though I'm on the news daily," that is was not about politics, even though he kept mentioning politics.
The "facts" that were presented by one of his staff members were practically meaningless. They showed that, per capita, Dallas residents pay less toward the District Attorneys Office than other large Texas counties. The point was made that Travis County (Austin) receives twice as much. The other side of the story, that Travis County represents the entire state of Texas in some matters, was not mentioned.
The main argument presented as to why not to cut the DA's budget over $3 million was that prisoners sitting in jail because they couldn't get court time would cost more than that. I didn't follow that argument. I've never heard of a judge saying, "We'll have to continue this case and leave the prisoner in jail because the prosecutor is unavailable." There might be an argument that prisoners may sit in jail longer if prosecutors are slow to address their cases. Criminal on street? Criminal in jail? Hmmmm, hard choice.
Although there was a moderator, Mr Watkins kept calling on certain people to ask him questions. One woman that was identified as an executive assistant in his office kept calling Commissioner Cantrell a liar. Another office member said Commissioner Cantrell was "disingenuous." None of the actions exhibited by many of those from the District Attorneys Office could be characterized as "professional." Yet at no time did Mr Watkins ask his employees to behave. At one point, he invited one to come attack the Commissioners Court. Certainly the District Attorney did not conduct himself as a professional; he continually tried to make emotion-inducing statements.
Commissioners Cantrell and John Wiley Price, who was also there but did not speak, are to be complimented for being the only professionals present. Commissioner Cantrell waded into a hostile, planted, and stacked audience to present the county's perspective. He successfully elicited a promise, begrudgingly given, from the District Attorney to sit down to discuss the budget situation and said that if he would do that, if the District Attorney would spend money from various funds that are sitting in the bank, that they could solve the budget impasse and all would be able to keep their jobs.
[District 1 April Crime Stats] [Contact Numbers—City Departments]
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06/05/09 @ 22:23
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