Many people in Brady are dissatisfied with how the City Council operates and spends money. They are frustrated because there seems to be no way to change it. Decent, hard-working citizens are afraid to even say anything for fear of retaliation on the job or in their business. A vicious gossip machine that be can and does bring social ostracism upon relatives and friends of anyone who dares question silences most citizens.

Massive spending projects just seem to pop up with no advance notice or community discussion. City debt goes up as taxes are raised each year and the budget balloons without reason or explanation. Committees meet in secret to make recommendations to the City Council that are funded without public discussion. Then they become continuing expenses the citizen must bear.

Attending City Council meeting is a humiliating exercise in futility. Citizens are belittled and ignored. All the business is done out of public view and passed without meaningful public discussion. City bills are approved without letting anyone outside the Council know what they are or how much money is involved.

Brady's current budget totals $23.8 million. Is that reasonable? You decide. It is more than the budgets of Brady ISD and McCulloch County combined. It is about three times the amount that other Texas cities of 5500 people spend.

Consider that the new interim City Manager, Dale Brown, comes from Palestine, Texas, where the City budget is about $14 million for a population of 17,598. That works out to about $800 per person. Brady spends $4327 per person - over 5 times as much.

What Can Be Done?

1. Disable the gossip machine. Don't listen and don't repeat it to anyone.
2. Support those with the courage to question the City Council. Protect them when they are attacked in their business, on the job or through social ostracism of  their families and friends.
3. Challenge the Council in every legal way possible. Make their actions public knowledge.

One opportunity to challenge unlimited borrowing by the City is to sign the petition to force an election before issuing Certificates of Obligation. Requiring voter approval to borrow will slow the runaway spending. That is the first step to stopping and reversing it.