In April of 2021 you would have thought an El Paso dust storm full of tumbleweeds came through Frisco and upset the equilibrium of our city. As we discussed in our earlier blogs Where There Is Smoke PT 1 and There is Fire PT 2, there has been a long standing point of contention between the Frisco Firefighters Association and the city in regards to workers compensation.
In 2021 the city opposed House Bill 2242 brought forward by Jared Patterson, Texas State House Rep for Frisco. In 2023 the FFA and Patterson brought HB 471, and they have been working extremely hard to get it or similar legislation passed in Austin that would protect first responders across Texas. The fight for more protection by the FFA and Jared Paterson has continued into our 2025 Texas Legislative Session.
Even though we knew about the El Paso dust storm, my wife and I were still shocked on May 16, 2023, after tuning into the city council meeting online, like we have done every other Tuesday for years. Mayor Cheney presented a proclamation to Denton County MGMR, for all the work they do each day relating to mental health. Mental Health Awareness Month aims to increase awareness about the vital role mental health plays in our overall health and well-being and provide resources and information to support individuals and communities in need of mental health support.
At that same meeting, during Citizen Input (23:00 minute mark), Frisco Firefighters Association President, Matt Sapp, along with Retired Frisco Fire Chief Mark Piland, and Assistant Fire Chief Cameron Kraemer to address the termination of Kraemer, a 27-year Veteran of the Frisco Fire Department.
What? After 27-years serving our city and its residents without hesitation, Kraemer was terminated BY EMAIL while on medical leave and under medical supervision for PTSD which we go into more detail about in our blog Backdraft which we really encourage you to read.
By the end of the meeting, I wanted to scream like Alanis Morrissette…
Isn’t it ironic? Don’t you think? A little too ironic
Where are we two years later? It is Mental Health Awareness Month again, and the second anniversary of Kraemer’s termination BY EMAIL while on medical leave. The fight is not over, not even close! It’s time to peel back the curtain on a firehouse-sized problem simmering here in Frisco? Buckle up, this one’s got smoke, politics, and no small dose of Texas-sized irony.
Smoke, Stigma & Silenced: Mark Piland
Since then, Retired Fire Chief Mark Piland has had his name wrongfully smeared and his 40-year stellar career in public service wrongfully attacked by City of Frisco leaders for speaking out on behalf of Kraemer and the Frisco Firefighters Association when he attempted to run for Frisco City Council.
The Legislative Lifeline
When your city will not support you, what do you do? The Frisco Firefighters Association has continued the fight and has been in Austin off and on the last several weeks with local State Rep Jared Patterson to fight for more protection for public safety employees in the State of Texas. Just today, HB331 officially headed to the Governor’s desk to be signed into law! The bill marks the final piece of legislation language from last session’s HB471 that our Frisco Firefighters have been advocating for the past three legislative sessions.
A Firefighters Fight: Cameron Kraemer
And Cameron Kraemer, where is he? Kraemer, while still under medical supervision, started the fight of his life against our very own City of Frisco. After a hearing on September 21, 2023, before the Texas Department of Insurance, the DMN reports that the administrative law judge hearing the case ORDERED THE CITY OF FRISCO, which is self-insured, to pay Kraemer benefits and any accrued but unpaid income benefits in a lump sum with interest as provided by law. According to John Riddle, president of the Texas State Association of Fire Fighters, Kraemer’s case is being watched throughout Texas, and it is important to the state’s 18,000 firefighters in 195 communities. Riddle said in the DMN, “For now, Frisco is among the most aggressive cities in fighting its injured employees at City Hall and the Legislature — and because of that, employees like Cameron Kraemer pay a high price.”
The battle continued as Kraemer took his case before the DOJ for them to determine if he was able to sue the city for wrongful termination which we wrote about in our blog Big Time Casino Payout. The DOJ ruled Kraemer could move forward with a lawsuit so in August 2024 Cameron Kraemer filed a lawsuit for wrongful termination against the City of Frisco in Collin County. Based on the research we have done, Kraemer is going to win, and we think he will win big! You can learn more in our December 2024 blog Kraemer vs City of Frisco that we wrote which lays out the details.
Final Thoughts from the Hillside Winery Whistleblower
Ask yourself why. Why is the city spending hundreds of thousands on a private law firm to fight so hard and drag this out for so long, when clearly, they are in the wrong? Why is the city spending tax dollars fighting our public safety employees instead of protecting them and just doing the right thing? What will this cost us, the taxpayers, when he wins? Our guess…. MILLIONS! But that is not all. We are hearing rumors of other lawsuits that have been or will be filed by former employees of the FD against the City of Frisco. We are digging into that now!
They had all the time in the world to prance around asking us to vote to change the use of EDC funds for a Frisco Center For The Arts but they cannot simply make things right with the firefighters. Instead, we have Councilwoman Meinershagen calling them 300lb bullies and complaining that they are fighting for protections that directly affect their life. We have Bicycle Bill Woodard, who wants you to believe the firefighters are lazy (his words during the May 2024 election), and they want to bankrupt the city. You can’t get a paycheck from a bankrupt city, so why would they want to do that? Cheney and Keating want you to believe that our RETIRED Fire Chief was fired after a stellar career with the city and 10 years of perfect performance reviews. Not to mention, in our PIR requests and federal FOIA’s, we found his entire 40-year career was stellar with not one deficient performance review. Lastly, no one is paying attention to the fact that in the last 6 to 8 months, several (rumor is 6 to 8) of our firefighters are saying Hasta La Vista Baby either via retirement or quitting their job. They are going to work for other organizations and cities where they are valued.
Just hope and pray your house does not catch fire because we were already short staffed and now it is getting worse! The city loyalists just turn a blind eye as always, and function as if nothing if wrong. They want you to believe we have nothing to be worried about, but as a taxpayer you can bet, I am worried! Big Time Payouts, the loss of experienced firefighters from our roster puts citizens and businesses in jeopardy.
Cue the organ. Dim the gaslights. Somewhere beneath City Hall, in the catacombs of taxpayer-funded dreams and concrete promises, a shadowy figure stirs. No, it’s not Andrew Lloyd Webber’s misunderstood genius — it’s Mayor Jeff Cheney, cloaked not in a mask but in economic development jargon, quietly orchestrating Frisco’s most expensive performance yet: the Frisco Center for the Arts.
You won’t find him on stage — no, he’s under it. Pitching, plotting, and maybe even humming a show tune with Tammy Meinershagen. They are not haunting an opera house, but haunting public trust, serenading voters with visions of velvet seats and chandelier-worthy productions — all while the deal’s finer details stay buried beneath layers of “partnerships,” and “nonprofits,” and a conveniently ambiguous price tag.
This isn’t just art. This is politics set to music — a taxpayer-funded overture with mystery, misdirection, and a plot twist or two we’re not supposed to see until the curtain drops. Grab your mask (and maybe your calculator), dear reader. We’re headed backstage, into the Phantom’s lair, where the lights are low and the truth is off-book.
#1 Concern: Mo Money, Mo Problems!
The total maximum project budget for the FCFA is $340 million. Prosper has pledged to contribute $100 million from a bond approved in 2023. Then the City of Frisco is proposing $45 million from the CDC, $75 million from the EDC and $40 million from the Tax Reinvestment Zone No. 1. The Frisco CDC and EDC come from sales tax, which means if you shop in Frisco and you pay sales tax on an item then you are paying towards this project.
City leadership keeps reinforcing that this project will cost $160 Million funded through sales tax efforts and we keep asking for proof that residents won’t be left holding the purse strings. The question residents should be asking is “Does this project along with all the other current projects, put a significant tax burden in the future for Frisco?”
Do you know what Frisco’s outstanding bond debt is today? Currently Frisco taxpayers are on the hook for $1.47 BILLION in OUTSTANDING bond debt (principle & interest).
If we read the latest 2024 Rating Summary for all the CDC debt which includes Toyota, the CDC is currently carrying $464 million in outstanding principal and interest which is being serviced by the $34.9 million in CDC sales tax revenue as reported September 2024. Using Toyota as an example, normally the CDC finances on a shorter term, however with Toyota Stadium they did $72 Million for 30 years at a rate of 5.30 probably to keep the payment low.
When you look at the historical revenues for the CDC, the year ending 9/30/20 they had $22,562,428 in gross tax receipts and at the end of 2024 it was $34,929 and it was about the same in 2022/2023). That means with all the Halo Projects Cheney brags about it having only generated an additional $12 million in sales tax for CDC. Huh? That is because no one saw Covid coming and the world shut down. What if that happens again or the economy tanks, then what?
Are we over invested?
Toyota Stadium: $182 million in improvements: $77 million – TIRZ: City of Frisco, FISD, $40 million – FCDC, $65 million – The Hunt family
Downtown Rail District Revitalization: $76 Million
Grand Park: In 2006, voters approved the allocation of $22.5 million towards the acquisition and initial development of GP. In 2015, voters approved an additional $10 Million for GP. From research we know the city approved $4.84 Million already spent on design costs. We went through numerous articles, city power points, meeting notes and the one thing we can’t find – what will Grand Park cost? Ask yourself, a park bigger than Central Park in New York with all the bells and whistles – how much will that cost? Where will the money come from?
Plus, we have plenty of projects open like The Mix, Firefly, and Universal where we are offering performance-based incentives. For The mix it is up to $113 Million.
From Box Office to Backroom
Take the CDC and EDC out of the picture for a moment – what type of projects are currently on the plate for the city. These projects are “Needs” not “Wants” which is very different. According to GIS Data the Parks Capital Improvement Projects has 50 total projects in the pipeline for $170 Millon and the Engineering Capital Improvement has 66 projects in the pipeline for $457.9 Million.
Taxpayer Tango
Let’s talk about Bond, money bond! In the 2006 bond, voters approved of $5 Million and in the 2015 bond voters approved of $10 Million for a total of $15 Million. How much of that is left? According to the pretty PowerPoints thrown at us for the FCPA they have $11.5 Million left. We are curious about how that is possible and are doing more research into their claim. How much of it have they spent and what did they spend it on? Why has the city done so many feasibility and spatial studies over the years for a theater? The answer, because each study came back and said a larger facility was not sustainable. In fact, the recommendations have been a 300 to 500 seat option and 1200 to 1800-seat option. If you ask our opinion, they spent millions of that bond money on shopping studies, meaning research, consultants, and surveys. Why, they needed “THE ONE” that supported the narrative, we need a 2800 to 3000 square feet facility to justify the boondoggle Broadway Ballot.
Remember how they have said no property tax dollars will be used on this project? A Tax Reinvestment Zone captures growth in both sales and property tax value. It can only be used to fund improvements for the properties inside its boundaries. If they are using money from the TIRZ that is captures of property tax then they are using our dollars for this project.
Smoke, Mirrors, and Marquee Dreams: A vote “YES” just takes us to the next step! If you have been following the meetings for this opportunity, then you have heard each of them say “This is a vote to go forward to the next step.” This is the definition of a misleading statement filled with false impressions and the intent to deceive or mislead the voters. Context matters!
This is a NOT a vote to “go to the next step” it is a major vote to change the use of Economic Development Funds.THIS VOTE SETS A PRECEDENT ON USING EDC FUNDS FOR NON-TRADITIONAL USES. The city is COMMITING FUNDS, which enables them to get a contract done (meaning we have no contract now) to SECURE AN OPERATOR. No money = No Operator.
A vote “YES” will put a burden on the CDC and EDC and burn a lot of potential future opportunities that could significantly contribute to the tax base and sales tax base in Frisco. The ever-growing debt burden will impact future projects. So this is not a vote to just go forward to the next step. If it was they would not be trying to sell it so hard like used car salesman.
Let’s close this one out! Money matters and we are already carrying a $1.47 Billion Dollar Burden! We have not even touched on the other issues and concerns yet, of which there are several. Numbers don’t lie! No matter which way the city tries to sell this to residents it is FISCALLY IRRESPONSIBLE to bring a project like this to voters and mislead them with a vote yes in may is just a vote to allow us to move to the next step. Once they change the use of the EDC funds nothing will stop Cheney or Tammy Meinershagen (who apparently wants to be our next Mayor) for going all the way. Is that a burden you are willing to carry?
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