The Galveston County Daily News

Jackie Cole, a former member of Galveston City Council, is right. Spending more than $16,000 to bring consultants and lawyers to a single meeting on the city’s tax increment reinvestment zones was an outrageous waste of public money.

But you could argue the expenditure for attorneys and consultants involved in the zones is outrageous as a matter of routine — not just when the city summons its hired hands to a meeting.

The workshop was called after Councilwoman Elizabeth Beeton began asking questions about the city’s tax increment reinvestment zones. One of her questions, ironically, was about the outrageous amounts spent on consultants and attorneys.

To deflect some of that criticism, the council decided to have a workshop to educate the unenlightened on how these zones work. The original idea was to invite the chairmen of those tax zones to give the council members a briefing. The chairmen volunteer their time, meaning this educational session wouldn’t have been a big public expense.

But the consultants and attorneys draw a lot of money from these zones. They have an interest in defending that lucrative turf. They held forth at the meeting.

Cole got to the fact that they billed the city more than $16,000 for that meeting by filing requests under the Texas Open Records Act for the invoices. According to the public record, the bill submitted by the consulting firm of Marsh Darcy totaled $8,048.80, while those submitted by Vinson & Elkins, the legal firm, totaled $7,767.69.

You have to wonder why the city council would have to hire a consultant charging an amazing hourly rate to prepare an agenda for the meeting. The council meets regularly. The city staff is good at preparing agendas. In the past, tax zones have paid invoices for consultants who billed for time spent picking up box lunches.

It would be funny except that the expenses coming out of these zones are made up by taxpayers who still are struggling to put lives and businesses together after the storm.

Here’s the incredible part of this story. Some people in Galveston still argue these zones should have less oversight from city officials and the public would be better served if all the decisions about spending within the zones were left in the hands of existing boards, developers, consultants and attorneys.