Taxpayer funds pushing new civil courthouse plan; Judge Dietz to receive $84/hour

The $287 million bond proposal for a new Travis County Civil Courthouse was given the ax last month by voting taxpayers. But that doesn't stop the County Commissioners from spending their money to bring it up again.

According to the Austin American-Statesman, retired District Judge John Dietz will get $84 per hour to come up with a new plan:

Dietz, who was the administrative judge when he retired in 2014, said Tuesday he will have two roles: helping the courts reorganize their business processes to “cope with reality” at the current facility — the overcrowded Heman Sweatt Travis County Courthouse — and helping the county find a new strategy for building a new facility.

Said bond opponent Bill Worsham in the article:

“His advice and experience is very valuable in a design process. We’re not in a design process ... This is part of the revolving door and the mechanism of having your friends and advisers on the public payroll.”

County Commissioner Gerald Daugherty, according to the report, took a more realistic tone regarding paying a consultant:

“I do think that, given the fact that the thing failed, the community needs to hear from the commissioners where we’re really headed"

More: www.statesman.com

It should be noted that Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt recently said in a Statesman video that Dietz was the one who originally called for the new courthouse.