Dear Editor,

The following is the text of a non-agenda item presented [by me} before the City Council meeting of Monday, June 4.

 “I recently asked the City and the LEDC for documentation on the non-tax benefits that have been given the LEDC.

 This would mean a list of all donations given the LEDC beyond the tax fund set up when it was created.  For example the guard rail along the drive up to the arena, what the Soccer Association has provided, or any other civic group.  And most specifically the City of Llano.

 The City and LEDC replied that they have made no effort to keep a record of who has given what.  A confusing response because the City has trumpeted the time and materials given the LEDC by a number of organizations.  

 How can it be both ways?

 But the City, I’m sure to the Secretary’s dismay, does have timesheets showing days of work provided out at the arena.  The Secretary researched and sent me 170 pages worth of information.

 Some of them even list out what labor was done.  Like “picked up and spread dirt”, “dug holes with augur, went to Marble Falls for new augur”, “filled water truck and spread water”...

 So the City provided equipment, fuel costs, and materials besides the labor I counted up.  Again, the City has told me it doesn’t know what it has given the LEDC beyond labor; I don’t know how you inventory your stuff.

 But the labor, by the way, totaled 407 complete days of work, and 168 partial days.  That’s time spent by guys wearing City of Llano shirts, working for free for the LEDC.

 This labor adds right up to about one employee working twenty months. 

Did y’all know that?  That the City gave away 20 months of work, plus materials, gas, and equipment time to the LEDC?  That’s $64,000 in labor costs alone.

 Did you know that when the Mayor and City Manager were telling everyone in Llano they needed to fund a new position for a lawn mower?  Because it didn’t come up when it was discussed in the meeting, before the vote.

Do you think the Manager and Mayor knew about this?  Yes or no?

And which answer is worse?  That they knew and didn’t tell you, or that they didn’t know they’d given away $64,000 in labor in the first place.”

John Ferguson

Llano, Texas