Why I Voted NO to Fund the Expected Monarch Shortfall

I support the Monarch, and I don’t believe anyone on our Board wants it to fail. We are all on the same team. My concern is not whether PCDC should help. I supported providing the $2.1 million requested for FY2027. My concern is committing millions more from future PCDC budgets without knowing what our economic development needs or revenues will be in those years.

PCDC’s primary responsibility is economic development. Today, we have significantly more business prospects considering Pflugerville than in recent years. Some of those projects may require substantial incentives to compete with other communities.

What happens if sales tax revenue remains flat? What happens if economic conditions worsen? What happens when a business our residents have been asking for finally considers Pflugerville, but we have already committed the funds we need to compete for it?

I believe we should evaluate PCDC’s contribution each year, after considering our revenues and the needs of projects in our pipeline.

The City also has other options to explore. Corporate sponsorships, naming rights, appropriate user fees, and other funding sources should be part of that conversation. Most importantly, residents deserve transparency about what it will actually take to operate the Monarch successfully over the long term.

As Vice President of the PCDC Board, my responsibility is to exercise independent judgment and give City Council my best advice, even when that requires a difficult vote.

I respect my fellow Board members and their votes. I hope they respect mine.

Fiscal responsibility requires responsible planning. Sometimes stewardship means saying no today so that we preserve the ability to say yes when tomorrow’s opportunity arrives.

“Sometimes stewardship means saying no today so that we preserve the ability to say yes when tomorrow’s opportunity arrives.”