TxDOT Flushes Another $6 Million Dollars
AUSTIN – Key lawmakers, concerned that the governor is circumventing the Senate, said Wednesday that they'll join efforts to give the chamber more authority to review state board appointees. The proposal targets "holdover" appointees, those whose terms have expired but who continue to serve until the governor reappoints them or names a replacement. The issue has gained a higher profile because Gov. Rick Perry's friend, Ric Williamson, continues to chair the Texas Transportation Commission although his term expired in February. The strong-willed, toll road-touting Mr. Williamson has detractors and would have a tough fight winning Senate approval if he were reappointed while the Legislature is in session. But under current law, Mr. Perry can wait until the session adjourns May 28, then reappoint Mr. Williamson, who could continue to serve without Senate review until the next regular session, in January 2009. Sens. Glenn Hegar, Steve Ogden and Mike Jackson have authored constitutional amendments to stop "holdovers" and make board members step down if they aren't formally reappointed. Read the rest HERE.'Holdover' appointees targeted
Legislature: Senate leaders back bid to add chamber review when tenures of governor's picks end
The revenue hungry TxDOT is still seeking to toll roads we’ve already paid for in Austin (and Texas). AND THE MOPAC PLAN WILL ACTUALLY MAKE TRAFFIC CONGESTION WORSE.
MoPAC (loop 1) in Austin, a main public expressway (an existing freeway) is now under attack. TxDOT is slipping this toll plan in under the radar by calling them “managed lanes” - which is easier to sell than the drasted “T” word. Managed lanes are toll lanes. Period. Why can't TxDOT be honest for once?
The Statesman just informed us of the last minute meetings today. What ever happened to 30 day notices for public meetings? Read the whole article HERE, a quote from the article:
“(TxDOT) has proposed a way to cram eight lanes onto the same MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1) footprint that now has six main lanes. The two new lanes would be "managed lanes," which probably would be free only to buses or perhaps cars with several occupants and would carry tolls for everyone else.”TxDOT has done a horrible job at solving our traffic congestion for decades. Now they want to move into the revenue generation business, by tolling freeways we've already paid for. See this video of the TxDOT chair saying he doesn’t want to keep toll costs down.
Gov. Rick Perry and his appointed TxDOT chair Ric Williamson claim Texas has run out of tax dollars to build any more free roads.
But, TxDOT, under the Perry and Williamson direction, is diverting billions of tax dollars, intended for free roads, into toll roads (where freeways should be). Then the toll road, that took the limited right of way for a public expressway, is sold off with back room deal called a Comprehensive Development Agreement (CDA). A freeway toll tax monopoly, like SH 121 in Dallas, is created in secret.
And, even though Gov. Perry promised the 4,000 mile Trans Texas Corridor (TTC) would cost the public zero tax dollars, a recent state auditors report reveals the TTC has already cost taxpayers $90 million, and not even one mile has been built.
When the railroad was first laid down in the United States, crafty businessmen could contribute to officials who would decide the exact path of the railroad. Businesses near the railroad would have a vast advantage over those who where not. Being able to transporting goods and services cheaper than your competitors can pumps up profits, and kill competitors.
A 1997 financial statement from Rick Perry, the last financial public statement before his investments would be locked into a trust, shows how Perry has interests in MKS Consulting, an oil and gas company that Ric Williamson and his wife run.
MKS Consulting will benefit from the TTC, which will include enormous underground pipes to transport oil, gas and other utilities. Those TTC pipelines will pass only miles away from Weatherford Texas, which is the home office of MKS Consulting and hometown of Ric Williamson.
Should a rogue Governor and his close pal benefit while taxpayers pay more for wildly unpopular policies?
Also of interest, Ric Williamson’s hometown of Weatherford was one of the very first cities to receive “pass through financing” from TxDOT, a rare no toll financing option to build a free road in Texas today.
And, just days ago, TxDOT gave Weatherford Texas a grant (paid for with tax dollars, intended for freeways we can “no longer afford”) which will pay for Weatherford's police overtime.
March 22, 2007
TxDOT directive drives Congress' Texans into tizzy
By Michelle Mittelstad, Houston Chronicle
WASHINGTON — Texas Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill are hopping mad at the Texas Department of Transportation, accusing its leaders in Austin of trespassing on Congress' most prized power: doling out federal dollars.
A letter this month from TxDOT's executive director tells members of Congress that the department will no longer support their individual road projects unless they obtain state and regional approval before pursuing federal funding.
"Arrogant," fumed Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco. "A letter like this is not a way to build relationships," complained Rep. Gene Green, D-Houston. Said Rep. Ted Poe, R-Humble: "TxDOT needs to understand the elected representatives make the decisions on what projects we do — not the bureaucrats."
Financial constraints
In his March 9 letter, TxDOT Executive Director Michael Behrens said that because of state funding limits, lawmakers need cited financial constraints in telling lawmakers to run individual projects past TxDOT district offices and local Metropolitan Planning Offices.
"Most, if not all, projects require matching funds," he wrote. " Earmarks subsidizing only a portion of a project simply do not justify that project's advancement if funding is not available to provide the remaining balance."
That message did not resonate with lawmakers who are proud of delivering millions of dollars in roads and bridges for their districts — with federal funds defraying a big chunk. Forty percent of TxDOT's funding last year came from Washington.
"To send a letter like this, it's almost saying, 'Well, members of Congress, we'll take your money, but we're going to decide what to do with it,' " said Green, estimating he's delivered $30 million to $40 million in federal highway money to his district.
Preparing a response
Delegation members are readying a response to be sent to TxDOT Chairman Ric Williamson to complain about the agency's stance.
"We are concerned that your letter reflects an unwillingness to work with us to secure future federal funding," says a draft of the letter obtained by the Houston Chronicle. "Considering the Texas congressional delegation provides almost half of your funds, we are surprised by the tone of your letter and sincerely question whether Texas commuters sitting in congestion share your perspective."
TxDOT spokesman Randall Dillard denied any attempt to intrude on lawmakers' turf.
"Certainly, we did not mean to offend any member of Congress," Dillard said. "We are simply trying to ensure that we are all working together to advance transportation improvements that provide the most benefit to Texans."
He noted the budget climate is a tight one — with TxDOT being ordered to return $288 million in federal funds by mid-April because of congressional cuts. That's on top of the $305 million lost through other cuts in the past 15 months, he said.
The lawmakers are irritated by the suggestion they don't already work closely with TxDOT district engineers and others.
Said Edwards: "TxDOT has certainly burned its bridges with a lot of members."
Sen. Nichols stands strong and gives statement. Alicia Phillips, Press Secretary for Sen. Robert Nichols, sent me an email just minutes ago. Nichols is the author of SB 1267, the 2 year moratorium. Her email asked if I would give her a call. I did.
Sen. Nichols wanted to make it crystal clear, that he is NOT holding up SB 1267. He wants the bill to go up for a vote.
Nichols said:"The effort to halt private toll road deals is not over. We will continue working to prevent Texas from entering into bad agreements that will hold our transportation system hostage for the next half century.
Pursuing a short-term solution with dangerous long-term consequences is not the answer to alleviating traffic congestion. A two year "cooling-down" period gives us a chance to get these contracts right before we sign away control of our transportation system."
Special Interests, who profit off tolls are hard at work selling tolls. Tolling freeways create traffic congestion. And, they are a wasteful way to collect taxes.
CONVENTIONAL TOLL ROADS vs. TEXAS FREEWAY TOLL ROADS
Conventional toll roads in the U.S. have always been perceived as being fair, since they supplement our public highway system, and they offer a public expressway as an alternative. It's also important to note that conventional tolls have always been whole new routes and primarily funded with investor dollars.
Freeway tolls don’t offer crucial free expressways as an alternative. Instead, frontage roads with stop lights and growing traffic congestion are touted as an alternative.
With freeway tolls, TxDOT has a financial incentive NOT to address traffic congestion on frontage roads since increased traffic congestion provides higher toll tax revenues. This is a severe departure for TxDOT, since its focus has always been solving transportation issues -- not generating revenue through traffic congestion. Freeway tolls simply shift public
highways intended to be freeways into tollways.
Those who support tolling public expressways never mention the true cost of public subsidies involved. The total cost to the taxpayer, especially the taxpayer-funded right-of-way (ROW), is never shared with the public. Freeway tolls create expressway monopolies and are the most expensive solution to our need for roads.
For the most part, the finances of conventional toll roads have been segregated from public funds. While freeway tolls are primarily funded with tax dollars intended for free roads.
Pro-toll advocate and TollRoadsNews.com writer Peter Samuel made this statement about TxDOT and its freeway tolls:
"It has no coherent explanation for its project selection, or for the way tax and toll monies are mixed. It has been cavalier in proposing tolls on highways already funded -- breaching a long-established piece of political wisdom about tolling."TOLLS: AN INEFFICIENT FORM OF TAX COLLECTION
I received this email about one of the details of the bureaucratic toll tax - The dreaded TxTag (TaxTag):Hi Sal,
And, it's not just cars that you don't own that absorb your time and money. States including Texas, California, Florida, and Maryland toll transponders (that automatically deduct funds from a credit card account) are overcharging motorists all the time.
I had told you about the "invoice" I had received from TexasTollways for a vehicle that I had sold prior to it getting cited.
I have spent several hours and emails trying to straighten it out, and just got another "invoice" - it is up to $4 now. The interesting thing about this invoice is that the section of the invoice that should specify the date and location of the violation - does not contain any information about the original citation.
And to top it off - the font is the smallest possible, not legible to me without magnifying glasses. The reason I point this out is that without the original dates of violation/invoice, a person with multiple charges would have no way to determine if these were accurate or not. In case you have not seen these statments before I have scanned a copy and attached it here for you.
Greg
Often, they will not even know this is happening. For example, the Harris County, Texas Toll Road Authority admitted just days ago that its use of an automatic vehicle classification device designed to catch "toll cheats" was instead cheating law-abiding motorists! Read more HERE.
City of Frisco Mayor Pro Tem, Maher Maso, has been fighting the SH 121 double tax toll deal months before Cintra got the contract.
You can tell by TxDOT's rushed timeline that they were trying to beat the clock on the March 1st Senate hearing. This is unbelievable even for TxDOT.
February 26, 2007 - Public hearing.
February 27, 2007 - Press release.
February 28, 2007 - Comprehensive Development Agreement (CDA) was awarded to Cintras by the Texas Transportation Commission.
Maher Maso stated:
“Of course, you also saw what was wrong with that picture, asking the public for their opinion while, at the same time, having the press announcement and then awarding the CDA all in two days!”The City of Frisco also sent a letter in response to the SH 121 “Environmental Reevaluation” analysis produced by contractor HNTB. HNTB has the contract for 183A toll in Central Texas, and others. Frisco found a whopping total of 130 issues with HNTB's work! Here are only the first 2 of the 130...
"2. This entire document is in many cases an exact word for word copy of the SH 121 Denton County Environmental Assessment which accounts for many of the errors in the document. There is little to distinguish it as an individual project separate from the Denton County project. Many of the references are more accurate to the Denton County project than the Collin County project for the majority of the document. Shouldn’t each Environmental Assessment be unique to the corridor and not a boiler plate document?"Click here to download the whole PDF. Recent 121 toll news HERE.
TxDOT’s press release from yesterday says TxDOT has to return $300 million dollars to the federal government, because they failed to use the money Uncle Sam gave them.
That's on top of another $305 million TxDOT failed to use over the past 15 months, for the same error.
Throwing away hundreds of millions of dollars while you cry that you’ve run out of money doesn’t really make sense. In the meantime, Gov. Perry's TxDOT, has been taking billions of our tax dollars, intended for free roads, and diverting them into toll roads. Will someone be fired over this blatant waste? Probably not.
In response, TxDOT has planned a public meeting to hear suggestions on how the latest federal cuts could be absorbed. Can you say "more toll roads"?
Just days ago TxDOT sold a Dallas state highway (SH 121 - intended to be a freeway) to Cintra for 50 years. Most sane people knew selling a public highway to a spanish company was a bad deal, but who would have thought it would be exposed to be an outrageous financial screw up so quickly?
First, you need to know this important tid-bit: TxDOT would not let the North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA) bid on the tolling of 121 freeway. But it allowed corporations from other countries bid. Cintra won the deal, to toll a Texas Freeway for 50 years, just days ago.
North Texas Tollway Authority estimates it would have given the state $4.2 billion in the freeway for sale deal. Instead TxDOT cut a deal with Cintra for only $700 million. From the Dallas Morning News today:
“The deal to make State Highway 121 a toll road for $2.8 billion in cash was less than half of what the state could have gotten, according to a very rough estimate unveiled Monday by the North Texas Tollway Authority.We get screwed by billions of dollars and our roads are being stolen for corporate profits. Our elected officials (Perry, Craddick, Williamson, Krusee and others) have sold us out. When will this madness be stopped?
In what everyone acknowledged to be an extremely preliminary analysis, the tollway authority said it could have given the Texas Department of Transportation $2.1 billion up front for the rights to the toll road project in Collin and Denton counties. That is the same figure as the winning bidder, Cintra Concesiones Infraestructuras de Transporte SA.
The difference came in how much money the tollway authority said it could pay over the life of the 50-year toll contract: $4.2 billion vs. Cintra's $700 million offer.”
I am beat. I waited all day, and didn't get called to testify, along with 100 others.
My favorite part of the day came from the State Auditor. TxDOT got caught trying to hide dozens of toll related advertising campaign costs under the rug (using our gas tax dollars they say we've run out of) . Here it is - from the Associated Press:
Great blog report on today's Senate hearing on Texas Observer blog, called, "Aching Assets" by Eileen Welsome. Eileen mentions how TxDOT has spent $30 million on one attorneys office. They bill out at $500 an hour (again with our gas tax dollars intended for free roads):State auditors testifying before the Senate committee Thursday mentioned that open records dispute and cited findings from a report they released last week on the Trans-Texas Corridor. They noted that some invoices at the transportation department were coded incorrectly and listed under engineering when they were really for public relations.
"Oooohhhh," many in the audience said in unison, in disapproving fashion.
Williamson spent most of his time pacing back and forth in a small cloakroom adjacent to the Senate auditorium where the hearing was held. Accompanying him were the usual TXDOT operatives, along with Geoffrey Yarema, a Los Angeles lawyer who’s been retained by TXDOT to guide the department in its ambitious plan to pave the state with toll roads.
Yarema, a smallish, balding man, is a member of the Nossaman firm. At a hearing on Tuesday, Williamson revealed that the firm’s been paid some $30 million so far.
Read more HERE. And from the CBS News:
(CBS 42) AUSTIN Lawmakers chastised state transportation officials Thursday afternoon, saying a pattern of deception and lack of communication is breeding distrust. At the heart of the dispute are Texas' controversial toll road plans.
Read more HERE. And a bit of the KVUE report with VIDEO:
This is one of the first times the legislature has been able to weigh in on the toll road issue over the past two years. State senators admitted Thursday, Texas Department of Transportation officials caught them off guard, kept them in the dark and left them wondering what's really going on.
Tolling Texas continues generating tons of taxpayer revolt.
An overflow crowd delivered an earful of complaints to state lawmakers. Working people left their farms and ranches to blast the Trans Texas Corridor, a proposed 4,000 mile transportation plan for the future.
“I read this is a visionary plan by Governor Perry’s that will benefit all Texans,” Clare Easley said. “I am trying to see the benefit for me."
So many people showed up that crowds were forced into overflow rooms. The Texas Department of Transportation and toll roads have found many critics, largely because of the private companies hired to build and run them.
There are also questions about how much taxpayers pay for the roads.
Speakers sounded off about not having enough say in how state transportation dollars are spent.
Cintra was selected today to operate State Hwy 121 and collect toll profits for the next 50 years. This will mark the second time in US history that a public highway, originally intended to be a freeway, is privatized and tolled for corporate profit.
The first public private partnership scheme for Hwy 91 in California cost taxpayers hundreds of millions more, not counting the high cost of tolls. A non-compete clause kept the state from increasing highway capacity on nearby roads. The state had to spend more tax payer dollars to buy back the toll roads for $207.5 million.
Right-of-way and a portion of the main lanes already built with public money will go to Cintra as a corporate subsidy. TxDot denies it was a freeway project “converted” to a toll road, because technically it was never open as a freeway, but we've paid well over $700 million plus the cost of right of way. Gov. Rick Perry announce the plan in North Texas just hours ago.
Perry's Transportation Advisor and lobbyist, Dan Shelly was rehired by Cintra in 2006. Cintra is also the majority partner in Cintra Zachry, which is planning the controversial Trans-Texas Corridor. Cintra Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte SA will pay $2.1 billion for the rights to operate the very lucrative toll project through 2057, most probably with profits close to $100 Billion. THERE WILL BE NO TOLL RATE CONTROLS FOR 121...CINTRA WILL RAISE THE PRICE AS HIGH AS THEY’D LIKE OVER THE NEXT 50 YEARS.
From the Houston Chronicle/AP:
"The advantage is roads will be built sooner," (Sen.) Carona said. "What you won't hear about is toll rates will be raised unlike anything we have seen today."
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Steve Ogden, who pushed the 2003 bill that helped set up the toll road initiative, said he was "asleep or not smart enough" to recognize potential problems.
"We are giving away a public asset and don't have much say about it for 50 years," said Ogden, R-Bryan.
Road Kill
by Eileen Welsome, Texas Observer
Although the current Legislative session is only a few weeks old, Ric Williamson, the embattled chairman of the Texas Transportation Commission, has already incurred the wrath of numerous state lawmakers intent on curbing the Department of Transportation’s plans to pave the state with toll roads and a network of superhighways known as the Trans-Texas Corridor.
If recent incidents are harbingers, the road warriors at TXDOT will be forced to jettison their own aggressive agenda this session and focus on protecting the new powers they were handed just four years ago to radically alter the way roads are financed and built.
The showdown began a few weeks ago when Williamson, a friend of Gov. Rick Perry and an ex-legislator himself, failed to appear at a budget hearing before the Senate Finance Committee. One senator, pointing out that it’s customary for department heads to be present when their budgets are being considered, asked Mike Behrens, TXDOT’s executive director, where Williamson was. Behrens explained that Williamson’s schedule was too full, a remark that touched off an angry round of muttering. “Make sure he’s here on March 1st,” snapped one senator.
On March 1, the Lege will hold its first public hearing ever on the Trans-Texas Corridor and the plethora of privately operated toll roads being planned for the state. TXDOT has spent millions of dollars on advertising and consultants trying to convince the public that the best solution for Texas’ massive traffic jams is allowing private investors to build toll roads. But its public relations campaign has backfired, managing to enrage not only large segments of the driving public, but also state legislators, congressmen, and scores of local officials who sit on city councils, county commissions, and transportation councils. The chickens, as Malcolm X once said, have come home to roost.
Nearly a dozen bills have been introduced to rein in TXDOT’s plans, and more are expected. Leading the effort is Republican John Carona, a Dallas businessman and chairman of the Senate’s Transportation and Homeland Security Committee. Said Carona, “The Transportation Commission and the governor’s office are so focused on short-term cures that they have not studied the long-term ramifications of what they’re doing. And I think the long-term ramifications are disastrous for this state.” Read more of this great article (that keeps getting better) HERE.
Updated 2/24
A new astonishing State Auditor's Office report, raises grave concerns as the highest ranking Auditor in the state is unable to decipher how much the first part of the Trans Texas Corridor (TTC) project will actually cost, even though the first Cintra/TxDOT contract was signed two years ago.
The Audit also reveals TxDOT downplayed costs and withheld information.
The report focused on the Texas Department of Transportation's first of many sections of the TTC, the TTC-35 Comprehensive Development Agreement with Cintra-Zachry, LP.
Perhaps the most shocking part of the report is the fact that TxDOT could be required to forgo ALL the revenue it’s claimed the state would receive.
The revenue TxDOT promised to members of the legislature, the public and the press, has been one of the key selling points that TxDOT has used time and time again.
This new information ads fuel to the fire as thousands of Texans have attended public hearings to oppose the TTC. Many are outraged over TxDOT’s 90 day forceable eminent domain “quick-take” for over 500,000 acres of private land.
The report states that accounting “misallocations and exclusions” of work done to date on the 50 year contract, are of concern. Pulled from the report:
"Weaknesses in the Department’s accounting for project costs and monitoring of the developer create risks that the public will not know how much the State pays for TTC-35 or whether those costs were appropriate.And, 53% of TTC-35 costs to date were incorrectly allocated to other projects. Invoices included hours billed that could not be tied to any progress reports or tasks performed. The report also states:
Not adequately monitoring developers also exposes the State to future financial liability.”
“The Department omitted indirect costs of $906,774 in fiscal year 2005 and $583,642 in fiscal year 2004.”Also, from the summery:
“There is a lack of reliable information regarding projected toll road construction costs, operating expenses, revenue, and developer income.”UPDATE: The Houston Chonicle and Statesman offer articles, "Audit rebukes corridor costs, Report says TxDOT estimates unreliable for Trans-Texas plan" and "Auditor scolds agency for corridor project, Texas Department of Transportation downplayed costs, withheld information, audit says".
Two TxDOT commission nominees got road hard and put away wet Wednesday after the Senate Nominations Committee grilled them with questions from tolls to secrecy to CDAs to big-ticket contracts.
A portion of the Statesman article:
The exchange in the nominations hearing marked the latest signal that many lawmakers are not happy with the transportation mega-agency, amid a continuing series of skirmishes between Senate transportation committee Chairman John Carona, R-Dallas, and Transportation Commission Chairman Ric Williamson.Sen. Eltife says indexing the gas tax, the current form of taxation, is the most conservative way to pay for roads, instead of a whole new additional toll tax where companies will raise tolls for maximum profits.
During the nominations hearing, Ned Holmes of Houston and Fred Underwood of Lubbock at times looked like deer caught in headlights, as senators grilled them about their views on controversies that have been swirling for months around the agency's management and operations.
In the end, assured by the two men that they support more openness and will get answers to lingering questions about tolls and financing, the committee voted unanimously to approve their appointments. Both need to be confirmed by the full Senate.
"I think we've created a monster" in the Texas Department of Transportation, state Sen. Kevin Eltife, R-Tyler, citing the agency's rush to approve toll roads and private financing packages that stirred continuing controversy.
"I think we're headed in a totally wrong direction," Eltife said. "I'm not so sure we haven't already signed away the farm."
"Who’s Your Daddy?"
by Eileen Welsome of The Texas Observer
February 20th, 2007
Who’s Your Daddy? Not TXDOT, Ric Williamson, the chairman of the Texas Transportation Commission, assured lawmakers this morning.
The pugnacious Williamson made another appearance before the House Transportation Committee to discuss the state’s toll-road-building binge. Accompanying him was Geoffrey S. Yarema, a soft-spoken attorney from LA who was recently dubbed a “Super Lawyer” by a California magazine and has become the go-to man for state agencies wanting to jump into the toll-road biz. (We put in a call to Yarema’s office to get his hourly billing rate and were informed he’d buzz us back just as soon as his plane touched down in LA.) Read the rest of the article HERE.
Gov. Perry’s Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) continues to “fast Track” Perry's vision of the Trans-Texas Corridor , TTC-35 and TCC-69, also known as the first step of the open border Nafta Superhighway, which will span from Mexico to Canada.
CorridorWatch and Citizens of Waller County led an Anti-TTC meeting in Wallis last weekend. The groups discussed how the TTC, the largest land-taking in Texas history will force Texas families from their home, via eminent domain. Foreign companies like Cintra and Macquarie will profit for decades off TTC Comprehensive Development Agreements (CDA's). Macquarie has recently purchased a group of Texas newspapers to silence critical press.
The state has attempted to create an illusion that there is nothing to worry about and the fears that have been expressed by the many thousands of Texans that attended hearings last fall, are unfounded.
In reality, a careful reading of their own web site reveals a confirmation of those fears. TxDOT’s own web site states that property will be taken through ‘Quick Take' authorized by HB 3588 to force homeowners out in just 91 days.
From the Sealy news report, “Citizens speak out against proposed TTC-69”, shouts of “Hitler” ring out at the Anti-TTC meeting:
"Hitler took the autobahn and took all the land," a concerned citizen said. "What are we going into? Imperialism?"This week, Paul Burka of Texas Monthly wrote about TxDOT's view that Gov. Perry is their one and only boss - TxDOT Chair Ric Williamson claims an imperial governorship. Burka states, "The governor is not the boss of the Texas Transportation Commission. Constitutionally, the governor is not Williamson's boss. The Legislature is."
"Eminent domain has to pay you for your land," Linda Stall said. "But you will get what the TxDOT appraiser says it's worth. It's not a question of if. It's a question of how much."
CLICK HERE TO READ Costello vs. Williamson from 2004. The transcript between Ric Williamson and I proves TxDOT's top dog doesn't know his own toll plans. You'll also read how TxDOT says it costs 25 cents (a quarter) to collect a 50 cent or more toll at a cash booth. How's that for bureaucratic waste?
