Concerned Grand Prairie Neighbors

08/20/2026

Rodney Anderson just put out a polished post about Grand Prairie property taxes. Here’s what he said… and what’s actually true, using real numbers.

WHAT HE SAID:
“The tax rate is staying the same at $0.66. It’s not increasing.”

WHAT’S TRUE:
The rate number stayed at $0.66, but because it is higher than the no-new-revenue rate, Texas law requires the city to publish it as a tax increase. Official notices have repeatedly said the rate “will effectively be raised.”

WHAT HE SAID:
The average homestead city tax will drop to around $1,648.

WHAT’S TRUE (my actual DCAD numbers):
My 2026 certified City of Grand Prairie taxes are estimated at $1,885.39.
That is $237 higher than the “average” figure he is promoting.

WHAT HE SAID:
We’re being responsible with your tax dollars.

WHAT’S TRUE:
Total property tax revenue the City collects is still projected to rise by several million dollars. When the overall amount collected goes up while the rate stays flat, many existing homeowners (like me) end up paying more.

Bottom line:
Keeping the rate the same on paper while real bills increase is not holding the line on taxes. Here are the actual numbers from DCAD not selective averages.

08/20/2026

PUBLIC NOTICE – Taxpayers Can Lobby Too

If the City of Grand Prairie can hire lobbyists to protect long-term tax incentives, then everyday citizens have the same right to speak up.

Right now, the City is handing out multi-year Chapter 380 agreements and tax abatements that delay full revenue to our city and schools for years. The latest example is the Amazon datacenter deal a $10 billion project approved with a 10-year abatement plus additional 5-year Chapter 380 incentives. On top of that, the March 25, 2026, Council meeting had clear Open Meetings Act problems: the posted agenda said 10 years, the term was changed during the meeting, and the full agreements were never posted beforehand, and it was never added to the agenda packet.

I have already done my part. I emailed Senator Angela Paxton (Chair of Economic Development) and the author of the last reform bill that died in the previous session. That bill can be rewritten and refiled. It does not have to stay dead.

Staff in Senator Royce West’s office told me this is the perfect time to start preparing bills for the next legislative session. There is even a public “101” resource on how bills are filed and moved through the process.

Senator West already serves in the Texas Senate. Junior Ezeonu will be sworn into the Texas House in January. Both will be part of the back-and-forth that decides whether these practices continue.

We do not have to wait for someone else to fix this. Taxpayers have the power to lobby for ourselves.

Find your legislators and contact them:
https://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/

Key starting points:
• Senator Royce West – [email protected]
• Senator Angela Paxton – [email protected]
• After January, also reach out to Representative-elect Junior Ezeonu once he is sworn in

If cities can hire lobbyists, we can raise our voices. The time to start is now.

08/19/2026

Great News for Joe Pool Lake Safety!

I’m happy to share a positive update.Yesterday, Deputy City Manager Megan Mahan responded quickly to my concerns about the missing No-Wake buoys, confirming the Parks Department was already reviewing the situation.

Today, Parks Director Ray Cerda followed up with excellent news:The Parks Department, working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Lynn Creek Marina, had already ordered replacement buoys.

The new shipment arrived last week, and the team was out this morning installing them in key areas including the beach zones at the Lake Parks, Lynn Creek Marina, and both Lakeridge Bridges.

They have also ordered extra buoys to keep in reserve so any future losses can be replaced quickly.

This is exactly the kind of responsive action that protects swimmers and boaters.

Thank you to Deputy City Manager Megan Mahan, Director Ray Cerda, the Parks staff, the Army Corps, and Lynn Creek Marina for taking this public safety issue seriously and getting it handled so efficiently.

08/19/2026

New Federal Crackdown on School Misconduct – And Grand Prairie ISD Has Already Had Multiple Cases

Yesterday the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas launched "Project Safe Schools".

The goal is simple and serious:
Stop school districts from covering up educator abuse and from “passing the trash” (quietly moving problem teachers to other schools or districts).

Partners in this effort include:
• U.S. Attorney’s Office (Northern District of Texas)
• FBI
• Homeland Security Investigations
• Texas Rangers / Texas DPS
• Texas Education Agency Inspector General for Educator Misconduct
• Local District Attorneys

Districts that voluntarily self-disclose past failures can get reduced penalties.
Districts that hide problems and get caught later face treble damages, loss of federal funds, public enforcement actions, and possible criminal charges.

This matters locally because Grand Prairie ISD has already seen several serious cases in recent years:

• August 2026 – James Robinson (Grand Prairie High School social studies teacher, 8 years with the district) arrested on a 1st-degree felony charge of Sexual Assault of a Child
• January 2026 – Kelvin Leiva (Arnold Middle School) arrested on child grooming charges and listed on the Do Not Hire Registry as under investigation
• Rebecca Goerdel (Kennedy Middle School / Young Men’s Leadership Academy) indicted for improper relationship with an 8th-grade student
• Earlier cases involving Kenrick Burns (2022) and Cody Bush (2023) for improper relationships with students

Parents deserve to know their kids are safe in the classroom.
Project Safe Schools is a major step toward forcing real accountability when districts fail to protect students.

Transparency and consequences are long overdue.

08/19/2026

Let’s talk about the $154,000 Grand Prairie spends every year on Focused Advocacy.

This is how the firm markets itself:

• “Passing over 80 percent of our clients’ legislative initiatives”
(while the average bill in the Texas Legislature only has about a 13-20% chance of passing)

• “Our team has passed or defeated more local government-related legislation than any other lobby firm in history.”

• “Nearly a thousand bills passed”

• “No other lobby team in Austin spends more time at the Capitol lobbying on behalf of municipal issues”

• Ranked repeatedly as one of the most influential lobby teams in Texas

They represent dozens of cities at the same time. If even 25 cities pay roughly the same rate as Grand Prairie, that is nearly $4 million a year going to one firm all to push City Hall’s agenda in Austin.

What does that agenda usually look like?
Protecting local control, protecting municipal revenue streams, fighting tax and revenue caps, and stopping bills that would limit how cities raise and spend money.

In short: the work is designed to protect the power and money of city governments not to lower your tax bill or give residents more say.

While City Hall pays lobbyists to protect its revenue and authority, taxpayers keep losing:
• Higher property appraisals year after year
• Repeated multi-million-dollar GO bond packages
• Increase in Utilities
• Less transparency on where the money actually goes


Defending this spending:
• Former Grand Prairie City Council member (2014-2023), former Mayor Pro Tem, and former Finance & Government Committee Chairman Jeff Copeland calls it “an amazing bargain.”
• Current Council Member Rodney Anderson (former Texas State Representative 2011-2013 & 2015-2019, and former Dallas County Republican Party Chairman) says: “As someone who has been in that game for 15 years, this is a bargain.”

Meanwhile, Ellis County Republican Precinct Chair Pat Mac is pointing out the real problem:
“Lobbyists are a big part of what’s wrong with our political system… When companies with a financial interest in legislation are making massive campaign contributions to the politicians pushing that legislation, it creates a serious conflict of interest and undermines public trust. That’s not how a healthy political system should work.”

This isn’t about good government.
It’s about who the system is built to protect and who keeps paying the price.

08/19/2026

BREAKING: Grand Prairie City Council DENIES Forum Industrial Park (Items 31 & 32)

The Council unanimously voted to deny the proposed light-industrial development on 38.49 acres near Mayfield Road / Forum Drive (across from Traders Village).

The project by Jackson Shaw would have included four industrial buildings totaling over 500,000 sq. ft. plus outside storage.

Residents who spoke against it raised concerns about:
• Noise from trucks and construction
• Increased traffic
• Loss of open views and neighborhood character
• Potential impact on property values and quality of life

Supporters argued:
• The land has been vacant for decades and won’t stay empty forever
• Light industrial is the highest and best use given the gas well and airport proximity
• Significant increase in tax revenue (from roughly $4,000 to $300,000)
• The developer had worked to address neighborhood concerns

After hearing from both sides, Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Jacquin Headen made the motion to deny, citing the volume of resident opposition. The motion carried unanimously.

The field remains… for now.

What are your thoughts on the decision?

08/19/2026

Well, it appears City Council meeting, the item #8 Resolution Establishing the City’s State Legislative Agenda and Priorities for the 90th Session of the Texas Legislature was approved.

The mayor confirmed the city is spending $100,000 on lobbyists to advance that agenda in Austin.

Here’s the part that matters to taxpayers:

When the City hires lobbyists, the goal is supposed to be protecting local control, defending our revenue streams, and making sure state laws don’t hurt Grand Prairie residents or force unfunded mandates on us. In theory, that $100,000 is meant to save taxpayers money in the long run by stopping bad bills and supporting good ones.

But the bigger question still remains:

Is this legislative agenda truly focused on delivering clear, measurable benefits back to the people who pay the bills or is it more about expanding City Hall’s influence and power in Austin?

Transparency on exactly what priorities are being pushed, and how those priorities help everyday taxpayers, would go a long way.

What results do you want to see from that $100,000 investment?

08/18/2026

Warrior pride! ❤️🖤

As a proud South Grand Prairie High School alum, I’m excited for WarriorPalooza TOMORROW!

📅 Wednesday, August 19, 2026
📍 South Grand Prairie High School

Event Schedule:
🕕 6:00–6:30 PM – Pep Rally in the Coliseum
🛍 6:30–7:30 PM – Warrior Market in the Cafeteria

Food will be available Ramos BBQ will be there with Texas-made BBQ!

Come support our athletes, grab some good food, check out the vendors, and stop by the Football Booster Club table for T-shirts.

Let’s show up. Who’s going?

08/18/2026

Friendly reminder – Grand Prairie City Council meets TODAY!

📅 Tuesday, August 18, 2026
🕓 Agenda Review / Staff Presentations start at 4:30 PM
🕕 Regular meeting begins at 6:30 PM
📍 City Hall – Council Chambers, 300 W. Main Street

Key items on the agenda:
• Consent Agenda (includes contracts, appointments, and a $38 million Certificates of Obligation)
• Proposed property tax rate for FY 2026-2027
• Multiple Public Improvement District (PID) public hearings
• Zoning cases for Forum Industrial Park

Public comments are welcome. Citizens can speak on agenda items (sign up with a comment card before the meeting starts).

Hope to see some of you there!

08/18/2026

Joe Pool Lake has a much deeper history than most people realize.

Before the lake was filled in 1986, archaeologists from Southern Methodist University spent nearly a decade studying the land that would be flooded.

Their final public report, published in April 1988, is titled “Archaeological and Historical Investigations of Joe Pool Lake: Recovering Evidence of 6,000 Years of Human Occupation along Mountain Creek in North Central Texas” by Randall W. Moir, Duane E. Peter, David H. Jurney, and Daniel E. McGregor.

Here’s what the 48-page report actually shows:

• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built a 4.2-mile-long dam on Mountain Creek that created a lake covering approximately 10,900 acres.
• Archaeologists first identified 42 sites during surveys from 1977–1979.
• They then conducted intensive excavations at 18 of the most important sites to rescue the information before it was permanently lost under the water.
• The work recovered clear evidence of continuous human presence for more than 6,000 years.
• This included prehistoric Native American hunter-gatherer camps where people lived seasonally, sharpened stone tools, cooked over open fires, and processed food.
• They also found remains of a small prehistoric village, showing that some groups stayed in the area longer and built more permanent living areas.
• Artifacts recovered included stone tools, pottery (some with designs similar to Caddoan styles from East Texas), burned rock, food remains, and later historic items from 19th- and early 20th-century Texas farmsteads.
• Two prehistoric and seven historic properties were still intact enough at the end of the project to be recommended for the National Register of Historic Places.
• The entire project was required under federal law as “rescue archaeology.”

You can read the full public report here:
https://people.smu.edu/arcsmu/collections/research-collections/arp/publications/joe-pool-archaeological-project/

Some of the more detailed technical files remain restricted from public view. That is standard under federal cultural-resource laws to protect exact site locations from looting.

This is a fascinating piece of Grand Prairie and North Texas history that most people have never heard about.

Joe Pool Archaeological Project Dating back to 1974, SMU was contracted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to provide archaeological research into the development of Joe Pool Lake (formerly named Lakeview Lake) in Dallas County. The final series of reports produced by SMU’s Archaeology Research P...