MIDLAND, Texas — Opening Remarks:
Cudd: I'm a Christian, I'm a conservative, and I'm a community member. There are several reasons I chose to run for mayor. I was raised in politics. I worked a phone bank when I was 8 years old asking people to re-elect George H.W. Bush. I moved to Midland from Lubbock and I own two businesses here. I've always believed in being involved in the community. When I heard Morales ran his second term unopposed, and when he might've run unopposed for a third term, I had to throw my hat in the ring because I don't believe you should win because you're the only option.
Morales: We all know how busy Midland is, we're one of the fastest growing cities in the nation. Roads are a challenge, housing is a challenge, the list goes on and on. I hope tonight you'll pay attention to the data and the solutions to some of these issues. Not only do we serve Midland, Texas and the Permian Basin, but the world. My experience in leadership comes with not only sitting on the city council for 12 years and being mayor for six years, but I've grown up in Midland and and run my own businesses. I know this community. I've seen the cyclical environment. This is a world class city that needs to be led by experience.
Payton: It's an honor to be here with two great candidates. I've been here for a little over 20 years, raised my kids here. I came here to start a church. We're seeing amazing things happen here. When I retired from Stonegate Fellowship, I didn't really have a plan other than starting a business. Over time, I found people were asking me to talk about leadership and talk about business, and that transitioned into them asking me to run for mayor. After prayer and a conversation with my wife and family, I decided to run for mayor.
Question: What is the most important infrastructure plan that you have? What's most important for you?
Cudd: I think the most important thing is affordable housing. Whether you call it affordable, cheaper, work-force, that's the most important thing right now. There's not a lack of creative solutions, we have plenty of the brightest minds, it seems that there's a stop at the city. For example, someone prominent in the community wanted to buy land for 200 affordable homes for teachers, first responders, and healthcare professionals. When he got to the city, they said no because we think in 20 years, that will be a major thoroughfare. But this is a problem now that needs to be tackled.
Morales: We've addressed water, and we've realized you can't build more homes without that water source. Engineering is much better today. Land-banking is something we haven't done in this area. If we can help get some of this land and and infrastructure down, then they can start building true affordable housing.
Payton: I'm always interested to listen to the comments people have about housing. We value the idea of less government, more people doing things. I usually end up in conversations with builders and contractors, and they say "I wish we could lift the red tape and just go."
Question: Do you believe roads are needed, and if so where?
Morales: We did a road survey with our city council. What we found are 30% of roads are un-repairable. We must get all the roads in our city limits that need repairs up to date. Under my leadership, we've allocated $12.3M in this current budget for street management. In the last six years, we've allocated $40M. Back to the other question and what Mr. Payton mentioned, we've made that red tape go away.
Payton: Once we get past the road bond of 2017, we'll still be a long ways away from what we want to get done. There isn't a plan once this bond is over. We have a fix with this current bond, but we don't have a fix for the future.
Cudd: Roads are often the number one concern for citizens. The very first road paved on this $100M road bond that you voted on was Greentree Blvd. Why was Greentree Blvd the first one to get paved? Mayor Morales and Mr. Payton live on this road. The city says that they fixed the roads that were in the worst condition first. I don't believe this is true. We need to find a way that is constant and not taxing the citizens.
Question: Do you support impact fees, and if so why? If not, what is your proposal for executing the capital improvement plan?
Payton: If you're able to clarify your values as a city and person, you can use those values to get to solutions. I think we're ending conversations before we're ending conversations. We need to find a solution that is unique to Midland, and not some thing we take from Houston, Austin, Dallas or Fort Worth.
Cudd: I agree with them. I know it's something they do in larger cities. I was at all of the council meetings regarding this. I don't agree with impact fees on single family homes, duplexes and quads. I think there's a lot of double-speak coming out of the city. They say affordable housing is a priority, yet they put impact fees on single-family homes.
Morales: The city council has discussed this at length. We've tried to squash all the rumors. We knew there would be an impact on the builders. What needs to be fair is that we all need to hear that cost. We agree and disagree with contractors on some of the fees. We're the fastest growing city in the United States. The formulas work differently for residential and commercial. We passed an impact fee that will make our city a world class city.
Question: What is your view on using revenue bonds to fund capital improvements in the city's water and sewer system?
Cudd: I think the taxpayers are tired of being asked to pay more money. Whether you call it a fee or a tax, I view it as a tax for services you may or may not be getting. I think there is always other options besides increasing taxes and asking for more money from the community. The private sector always does things better than the public sector, and certainly the governmental sector. We should pursue having public-private partnerships to find other sources of income besides constantly taxing.
Morales: We've done a tremendous job in the last six years not going after debt. The water tower was the first major debt we needed to address to get homes built. We worked out at $130M plan with Pioneer to get our treatment plant updated. That saved both you and me a lot of money. In 2004, our tax rate was 65 cents. We've dropped it down to 36 cents. We've dropped it every year. It's keeping up with population and inflation, we've been building infrastructure.and not having to go after that debt under a 36 cents tax rate.
Payton: When all you're doing is looking at 250 things that need to be done, and you keep adding to that list, when you don't know how to filter all those ideas down through the values you have as a city, and when you don't present to the city a plan about how you're going to go through that, you're always going to have discussions about do we need revenue bonds, do we need a regular bond, what about tax rates? As a city, we rarely present to our citizens a business plan. We haven't told them "this is where we're going," then at the end of the year we tell you how we spent that money on a water tower. If we're not clear about our plan, we're going to have arguments over taxes and how we're going to pay for things.
Question: What creative solution for infrastructure improvements would you begin to get the voters behind the day you're sworn into office.
Morales: We need to finish the road bond. We need to talk about infrastructure underground. It's time to start replacing the aging drainage infrastructure. We're starting with two park projects going down Midkiff. When it floods, we see the southeast side of Midland flood. It's time to improve that infrastructure. We have a plan for this community.
Payton: I'd sit down with city council and prioritize these things. Then figure out how we're going to pay for it. There are so many lists of so many differenty things, but we still don't have a way for prioritizing them and presenting them to the city beforehand. And then asking the citizens how we're willing to pay for it. Then, we show them at the end of the year just like any business with a end of the year report, how we did that, and how we preformed, and then we move onto the next thing we need to do.
Cudd: I'd ask the city employees what they need to do their job. Regarding infrastructure, I'm looking forward to sitting down with the city managers office and askin, "what have we tried in the last 20 years?" I don't like when somebody says, "oh we tried that, and it didn't work." Well, why didn't it work? Why don't we figure out recycling? Why don't we look at what we tried to do to improve the senior center and why they didn't work and what could work? I don't pretend to know that I have all the answers, but I'll go to the people that have then and find the solution.
Question: What is to be done about 18-wheeler and oversize loads travelling on the loop and destroying in town roads?
Payton: We as a city have noticed with the uptick in energy production, we weren't ready. I don't know what the city is planning on doing at this point, but I want to work on re-routing that traffic. The hardest part will be the enforcement piece. Obviously there's an issue with having enough officers. We'll need to hold our companies accountable. They won't be able to use Loop 250. It will be a process with TXDOT and Motran to reduce congestion
Cudd: I agree, no reason for 18 wheelers to use Greentree. We have plenty of laws and rules and ordinances, but we don't have enough police officers. We also don't have enough code enforcement. The city is hurting for employees in every aspect, including the police and fire department. I'm good friends with James Beecham, and he has some creative solutions for this.
Morales: There are state roads, city roads, and some county roads in our city. Andrews HWY, Big Spring Street, parts of Midland Drive... If you see a truck in your neighborhood, send a picture to the police department and they can get fined. We actually have a truck route in place, but we just have to enforce the law.
Question: When will Wadley, Midkiff, Midland, and Andrews HWY be fixed in regards to flooding?
Cudd: Yes, the Wadley River... I've talked to different engineers about what's happened previously, and now we have that teeny strip down the middle of Wadley. We have problems around the city in every sector. We know what's right about Midland, which is our community and sense of pride. But we need to talk about problems. You only fix things when you bring them to light. So yes, everything needs to be addressed. My priorities are affordable housing, police and fire, and being more efficient at our use of taxpayer dollars. I've met with recycling people, animal shelters, and I tell them my priorities. We'll have to address everything at some point.
Morales: You just heard me talk about drainage impact fees. We only have so many contractors. We're addressing things one at at time. We made a commitment to infrastructure. We're not going to rebuild roads until we rebuild infrastructure. In today's bond, we're going after 13 infrastructure projects, and by year four and five, we do need to come before the citizens and talk about a new road bond, possibly a bigger one, to address this drainage issue.
Payton: I'm glad Mayor Morales said we're going to have to go back to the taxpayer down the road. We have gotten run over as a city since 2015. It does take long term planing, engineering planning is already two years in the hold. We need to identify not only that we're going to have to pass a bond, but we need to identify the most important thoroughfares and present that to the taxpayer. That's why we get so many questions about the "Wadley River" because people have yet to see the direction of the plan and where we're headed.
Question: What do you believe the city council can do to increase the number of single family residences being built each year, and what specific initiatives do you champion?
Morales: Read the Perryman study, it supports everything I've said the past six years. We're building 750 homes on average each year. We don't control rents, we don't control mortgages. We know every industry in Midland is growing, they each require a certain staff. I need staff to support my retail. I'm proud of Hillcrest Village, something that came out of Priority Midland, which I helped start. It's going to provides houses for nurses, health care, teachers, first responders. Land-banking, finding water, annexation, will all be strategically planned out as we continue to grow and make ourselves bigger.
Payton: Even if Perryman's growth numbers are half right, that's still going to be a problem for us. But also, the problem I have with the question is what are we going to do about it as a city? We're going to get out of the way of developers and get them doing their jobs faster. Our private sector will take care of things, and we'll take care of the things they need us to take care of.
Cudd: Housing is my number one priority, I talk about it wherever I go. Everyone I talk to says they've been stopped at the city with red tape. One easy thing we can do is create a housing state of emergency. We could ask the cleaning and zoning commission to meet every week instead of every other week for a set period of time to push plans through. We can contract our plan reviews and inspections to others as well.
Question: Do you believe that we have an affordable housing crisis?
Payton: When you mention crisis, it puts us in a panic. We need to be careful with our language. The fact of the matter is, we have a great opportunity more than a crisis. If we stick to our free market principles and being a city with a plan that allows the red tape to be cut through, the market will take care of itself. The way we fix things is we get out of the way, present a plan, and let developers do what they do.
Cudd: The average cost of a home is $360,000, and the average one bed apartment is $1,600. If you're a starting police officer, you probably can't afford either of those. One of my developers told me that in Grandberry, when apartment complex come online, the city requests to have a certain number of units available for free for police officers and firefighters. Why can't we do that here? There are plenty of solutions if we quit saying no and we just get out of the way.
Morales: We've loosened our ordinance so we can get more units. Today, we have 3100 units, so supply and demand, free enterprise model is going to work. When the new 3100 units come in, prices will start dropping. There is no more red tape. We are addressing housing for everybody, and a lot of the time it depends on your income.
Question: There are three high-rise buildings that are vacant. Should the city use those for affordable housing?
Cudd: Yes. For 12 years, I've heard of developing downtown. I personally believe we should develop all of Midland. If there is something we can do to with those empty buildings, we should get out of the way and let them do it. At the same time, one has been proposed as a high end, luxury hotel. If we spend the same time talking about affordable housing instead of a luxury hotel, we'd have affordable housing for everyone. I think it shows a difference of priorities with the current administration and what I'd do.
Morales: As city council members, you don't elect us, we don't run housing. We help get rid of red tape. Downtown was a huge eye sore. When I was elected in 2014, that was all I heard. We started making investments downtown, and then the private sector started investing. Development happened everywhere. We're touching on every part of our community.
Payton: If you know your principles and values, a lot of questions are easy to answer. What I don't agree with is giving tax abatements to people who might come downtown. It goes back to that free market principle. We can promote who we are and get out of the way, then we'll let developers do what they want to do.
Question: What role should the city play in solving affordable housing?
Morales: It's the free enterprise system. The city is the backbone of the city. Everything comes through the city. We will help you save money and help projects come to fruition. This is our community. We want to keep police, teachers, firefighters, sanitation department workers, health workers here.
Payton: We really want the free market system to take over and do what it does. There are things we can do for police, firefighters, and teachers, but it all goes back to values and priorities. But let's back up. As soon as we start incentivizing , it depends on your priorities and how you want to pay for it. It's the government's job to have a long term vision. It may take us a little longer to get there, but we'll see the problem solved.
Cudd: Less government is more freedom. I see comments that we should have rent caps, but I don't believe that. The government shouldn't get involved in the private sector. We've been forming more committees, initiatives, and programs, but it's time to take action. We need to get people involved who have the solutions and be willing to take a risk and try something different. We don't have time anymore.
Question: Say you're elected, what creative solution for ensuring more affordable housing would you rally behind on your first day in office?
Payton: It depends on you priorities, values, and that determines budgeting. Since we keep talking about police and fires, the teachers we can't do much about because that's a separate issue, but we can partner with the school district and work on answers.. One thing we can do for fire and police is that they never be payed less than 5% less of the highest rate paid in the state. That's a priority issue that every firefighter in the state knows, and if you go to Midland, you'll be near the highest paid in the state.
Cudd: Last Sunday, the three of us wrote an article for the paper about affordable housing. One suggestion I had was about a land-bank. A land-bank would clear up property title issues, whether it's back taxes or a piece of property that was generationally willed to someone who isn't aware that they own it. A land-bank would clear up the titles on those properties and not cost taxpayers more money. There are hundreds of properties with this problem that we could develop. Then the city would generate more revenue off of property taxes.
Morales: Our tax rebate program has done a tremendous job. Police and fire: the city council approved 18 homes in a modular setting for our police and fire, only had to pay $400 to get our police and fire up to speed. If we can start facilitating these programs and save the builders money, we'll do that. The red tape, we've gone over that. The affordable housing takes time with the supply and demand model. In 2015 when the budget was down, we kept going and moving forward.
Question: Not everyone works in the oil field. What can be done about high rent prices?
Cudd: I don't believe that the city can do anything to assist with rent. I believe there are certain non-profit organizations. There is a segment of the city that helps people with disabilities, home repairs, first time home buyers. But you have to qualify for those programs. As far as the city having anything to do with it, that sounds like rent control which is illegal in Texas, and certainly not something that lines up with my governmental belief of "less government, less freedom."
Morales: We have not addressed that issue. This came about with cost of living, inflation, and everything moving at a rapid pace. From a city standpoint, we have not addressed this issue.
Payton: There's going to be very little difference in how the three of us answer this question. There are things we could consider. When I look at where Priority Midland may be able to help is perhaps creating a way to organize our 501c3's so we're not duplicating efforts. We may be able to lean on our partnerships to narrow the options so people can find answers to their rent needs faster and easier.
Closing Remarks:
Morales: Today is not the time for change. We're on of the fastest growing places in the countries. You need to keep experienced leadership. I've built relationships and understand infrastructure issues. I understand the cyclical environment. Keep the team leader, keep the experience.
Payton: I think it's a great time for change. Change challenges everything that we do. Effectiveness is most important. You can look at D.C. to make that claim. I hope to get your vote.
Cudd: If you want something different, you have to do something different. If you're happy with the results of this town, you know who to vote for. But if you want change, I hope you consider voting for me.
