$8/Month for a Meter? Are You Kidding Me?

Some Richardson residents complain about having to pay $8/month for having a second meter at their home for outdoor irrigation, even in winter months when they don't water their lawn.

If instead of charging you $8/month, suppose the city charged you $96 once a year. You use the meter every year, don't you? Would that eliminate your complaint of paying for billing periods that you don't use the meter? Paying month to month, spreading the cost evenly over the year is just a convenient bookkeeping technique. Kind of like the electric company offering to take your variable monthly bills and evenly spread them throughout the year.

But is $8/mo or $96/year the right fee for a meter? I suspect it's a case of spreading the cost of supplying water to the city out in a lot of little ways. If the meter fee is too high that means the cost somewhere else is too low. Reduce the cost of the meters to zero and the city has to make up the lost revenue somewhere else to come out even. There's no free lunch. (By the way, the city isn't alone. I pay Time Warner a monthly rental fee for equipment that I suspect is higher than the cost of providing the equipment alone.)

Repeat Tweets: What Cecil the Lion Teaches Us About Health Reform

Repeat tweets from August, 2015:

• Aug 1 2015: Cecil the lion teaches us that "the ruling theory behind conservative notions of health reform is completely wrong." krugman.blogs.nytimes.com
• Aug 2 2015: Ironic, @DonMcLeroy accusing others of throwing gas on the fire. He is the arsonist. He and his revisionist history.
• Aug 2 2015: I don't know if Scott Walker is a sentient human being, but presume he is.
• Aug 3 2015: "GOP doesn't rush to defend Ken Paxton." Of course not. Paxton himself admitted guilt and paid a fine last year. abc13.com
• Aug 3 2015: Cruz: "Satellite data for last 18 years [shows] zero recorded warming." Obama: "2014 was the planet’s warmest year on record." One is right.
• Aug 3 2015: Jefferson Center Apt Homes: High-end, medium-density, single-use development near future Cotton Belt station. Meh. bizbeatblog.dallasnews.com

After the jump, more repeat tweets.

Three Graphs That Explain Your Water Bill

If your water bill tripled last month, don't blame rate increases. The rate for water in Richardson was the same last month as the month before. Sure, it's been going up year after year, and will continue to do so, but those increases are in the order of 8-10% per year, not the 300% per month that some people saw their water bills go up last month.

What would account for a 300% increase in water bills is increased usage. That that happened shouldn't be shocking. May was the wettest month in the area's history. We still had twice a month watering restrictions in place, although no one should have had to water their lawn at all. June and July were dry, dry, dry. And the water restrictions were eased. Twice weekly watering became the norm. Twice a month to twice a week is a fourfold increase. That and the change in weather means it's not surprising that water bills soared.

After the jump, three graphs that show the story.

High School Football Is Back: BHS 45, SGHS 35

From 2015 08 28 South Garland vs Berkner

It's only August and the thermometer is still pushing 100 degrees, but school is back in session. That can mean only one thing: it's time for high school football. The Berkner Rams opened their 2015 season in winning fashion, beating South Garland High School 45-35. The Rams led by 10 at halftime, then both teams traded score after score before the Rams recovered a South Garland fumble at the Rams' two yard line with less than a minute left to seal the win.

All the action, including the game, cheerleaders, drill team, colorguard, marching band and all the rest that make high school football the best value in sports entertainment, can be seen on Google Photos. Remember, without the band, it's just a game.

Iran: Yes or No? My Conversation with Mike Hashimoto

The Dallas Morning News published an editorial, "Make the Iran nuclear deal better, but don't scrap it" that I found to be, well, muddled.

Editorial board member Mike Hashimoto expanded on the editorial in a blog item, "Where does the ed board come down on Obama’s Iran deal? Read on." Sadly, I was no better off understanding the News's position after reading this. And even a Twitter conversation with Mike Hashimoto failed to enlighten me.

POTD: Saigon Motorbike Chic

From 2015 03 21 Saigon

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the streets of Saigon. There are motorbikes. Lots of motorbikes. Lots. Lots. Lots. Almost everyone on a motorbike wears a helmet. They also wear masks. Motorbike chic.

Richardson's Budget - Black or Red?

It's August and that means it's time for Richardson budget roulette. Will the proposed city budget be balanced? You'd think that would be a simple question. Isn't the city required by law to have a balanced budget? Well, yes, but it all depends on the meaning of "balanced".

Last year when I looked at this question, I concluded that the city's 2014-2015 budget was indeed balanced and didn't require use of that sneaky asterisk ("plus reserved fund balance and other financing sources").

After the jump, reviewing that conclusion and looking ahead at 2015-2016.

Point and Shoot (2014)

IMDB

Point and Shoot (2014): Thrill-seeker films motorcycle ride across North Africa. Returns to fight Gaddafi. Like watching a car wreck. B-

Debt is Good

The Richardson City Council voted to hold an election in November to issue new bonds totaling $115 million. The four propositions residents will vote on:

• Public Buildings - $67,000,000
• Streets - $38,570,000
• Parks - $7,230,000
• Sidewalks - $2,200,000

I haven't studied the details, but the numbers seem to be in the right ballpark for my support. Should the total be a little more...or less? Perhaps. The total seems to be of a size that doesn't require a tax increase. That's important to many. Should buildings get less money and streets get more? Perhaps, if the money for streets goes not to building more streets but goes instead to filling potholes and reconfiguring existing streets to improve walkability. That's important to me. I'll have my ears open for discussions along these lines, but I expect that I'll support all four bond propositions regardless whether the numbers are exactly what I would have come up with myself.

There are some people who don't just want to fiddle with the numbers. They want to cut the numbers to zero. For them, debt is evil, or at least bad. This attitude provides us with another opportunity to challenge conventional wisdom. Public debt isn't evil. It's not even bad. In fact, debt is good.

POTD: Ben Thành Market

From 2015 03 21 Saigon

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Ben Thành Market, Saigon. It's a large, old marketplace popular with tourists and locals alike. Souvenirs, handicrafts, clothing, food (cooked and uncooked), all are available in this thriving market. The photo was taken in the street just outside the market building itself. Good times.