Harish Jajoo will:
ELECT
• Run the City of Sugar Land more like a business • Focus on the bottom line, streamline services, become more efficient, and improve customer service for Sugar Land residents • Enhance city services through innovation, technology, and a dose of common sense in government
JajooForSugarLand.com f facebook.com/HarishJajoo t @harishjajoo VOL 9 No. 16
email: editor@ independent.com
www.fbindependent.com ww .fbindependent.com
Phone: 281-980-6745
FORT BEND FAIR. BALANCED. INFORMATIVE. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2016
P. O.BOX 623, SUGAR LAND, TX 77487-0623
Official newspaper of Fort Bend County, Missouri City & Sugar Land
Sugar Land council candidates explain their platforms
Chris Breaux, left, and Sunny Sharma, right, flanked Sugar Land City Council candidates Diana Miller, Himesh Gandhi, Ron Black, Mary Joyce and Naomi Lam. By SESHADRI KUMAR In the short term, Sugar Land will have its performing arts center, a festival site, and parks and trail projects. The city will annex New Territory and Greatwood. The city needs to build a training facility for the police and fire departments. There is a plan in place for that. The city has eight different master plans and its 2025 vision plan. “We need to continue to build on these plans. We have priorities earmarked in these plans. It takes leadership and experience to do these,” Sugar Land’s At-large Position 1 councilman Himesh Gandhi said at a candidates forum hosted by the Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce and Fort Bend Voters League on April 13. Diana Miller, who is seeking Gandhi’s seat and three other candidates Mary Joyce, Naomi Lam and Ron Black seeking the
open seat At-large Position 2 participated in the forum. Chris Breaux and Sunny Sharma moderated the discussion. Miller, a grassroots organizer and advocate for a bigger voice for residents, said she has been working for five years and collected over 7,000 signatures in a petition drive, under the banner Sugar Land Votes. She took credit for limiting the number of apartment units in the Imperial development from the initial projection of 1,500 to 238 units. The Imperial development is an amazing development and that is the kind of development the city needs, Miller said. “We are a growing, but aging city. We have to prioritize the projects, not just for one neighborhood or some, but for the whole city,” Gandhi said. The city faces some constant issues such as the increase in construction costs, drop in sales
tax revenue, and poaching of top talent from the city by other cities. City Council needs to understand the pressing issues and allocate resources appropriately. “I have done that while on city council and will continue do so,” Gandhi said. The city has a good economic development plan available for luring businesses, a mix of retail and commercial, and it has a pro-business environment. “Every business will look at our attitude toward business,” he said. Sugar Land has the lowest crime rate, excellent economic development, second lowest tax rate and AAA bond rating. “I am proud of Sugar Land’s accomplishments. I am not a one issue candidate. I don’t believe my position needs a change,” Gandhi said. See COUNCIL, Page 3
Early voting in local elections begin April 25 Early voting for Sugar Land’s City Council and Charter Amendment election begins April 25. The mayor and council member at-large positions one and two are on the May 7 ballot; each position serves a two-year term. Voters will also be asked to consider eight amendments to the City Charter. In order for citizens to ensure their system of local governance is meeting their needs, a process was established in the 1981 Charter for periodic reviews and amendments. Every five years the Charter requires City Council to establish a Charter Review Commission to study the state and condition of local governance and recommend any needed
changes. In November 2013, a fivemember citizen Charter Review Commission with municipal, legal and background knowledge and expertise that recognized and understood the complexities of the legal basis of the government structure was appointed; these individuals, without a political forum or platform, brought forth neutral perspectives that promote and support the goal of effective local government. The commission was charged with the responsibility of reviewing the operations of city government to ensure that it continues to provide reliable guidance on the relationship between the structure and performance of the city govern-
ment, and that the structure will achieve the goals of efficiency, effectiveness, and equity. “The charter review commission is a vital part of city government,” said City Secretary Glenda Gundermann. “The leadership and qualifications of the charter commission has a very important role in examining and reaffirming the charter provisions for optimal governance performance and principals, as well as political leadership and professional administration. The document serves as the City ‘constitution,’ permitting citizens to have a voice and participate in the governing process.” See CHARTER, Page 3
CHILI TIME. The sixth annual Chili Cookoff organized by Classic Chevrolet of Sugar Land on April 14 turned out to be yet another roaring success, going by the tons of chili distributed, more than a dozen celebrity judges who tasted the varieties of chili, and hundreds of streaming visitors who attended the event, a fundraiser for the Sugar Land Police Officers Association. Besides the $2 entry fee which went to the SLPA fund, Fort Bend County Commissioner James Patterson auctioned off two paintings drawn by performance artist, Ange Hillz of Visualpaint. The paintings were done in under six minutes each on the spot, one the Sugar Land City Hall and another, a policeman with a child. The two paintings were won in the auction by Scott and KK West and Diana Miller. Each painting fetched $2,000. Above, after the auction, Don Kerstetter, left, owner of Classic Chevrolet Sugar Land, Scott and KK West, Mathew Morales grandson of Diana Miller and son of Sugar Land Police Officer Marty Morales, Diana Miller, Ange Hillz and James Patterson. Also, grand champion prizes were awarded for the best in class chili, booth decoration and crowd favorite. Live music, kids games, bouncy house and the clown made it a family fun event. Dozens of items were sold in the silent auction as well. Miller said “The painting was particularly special to me because my grandson, Matthew, wrote a letter about his father, Sgt. Marty Morales, and his concern about his father’s safety as a police officer. My husband Randy and I will be donating the painting to Sugar Land PD on behalf of Matthew.”
Investors make money by ‘owner financing’ homes at 9.9 percent Where you find disaster, you find opportunity. And the bigger the disaster, the bigger the opportunity. In the current real estate market, the majority of families cannot qualify for a home loan. Even so, interest rates are at historic lows. Investors are able to get investor loans at just under 5% fixed rates. At the same time, the typical owner finance rate for a credit challenged home buyer is 9.9%. Investors are able to make the delta between the rates and create consistent mail box money without the expenses, responsibilities or liabilities of landlording. RCS Training, a local Fort Bend County based Company,specializes in locating credit challenged Home Buyers that have a minimum of 15% down payment and a willingness to pay a 9.9% fixed rate. RCS has developed a proprietary process known as the RC System©™ which delivers turn key opportunities to investors. The process begins once RCS has located a credit chal-
lenged Home Buyer with 15% down. The Home Buyer then selects their home of choice and RCS Makes an offer to buy the home and gets an executed contract from the Seller. The Home Buyer signs an owner finance contract with RCS and agrees to pay a 9.9% fixed rate. RCS then assigns the contracts to a private individual (an Investor) that can qualify to purchase the home with an investor loan. There is no cost to the Investor for this service because RCS services are paid for by the Home Buyer. By generating a $400,000 loan, an Investor makes monthly Mailbox Money exceeding $1,700 per month. The investor is secured with a note and Deed of Trust. Experience has proven that if a family puts 15% down and gets their home of choice, the odds of payment are extremely high. RCS Training uses a 3rd party note Serving Company to provide a turn key service for the investor which includes collecting monies; sending
monthly and annual statements to Home Buyers; reporting to the credit bureaus; and making monthly deposits into the Investors bank accounts. RCS Training stands for Reverse Close System Training. Instead of beginning with the home like most investors, RCS begins with the home buyer. The Home Buyer finds the home. In every case the home is sold, before it’s bought. This eliminates the risk of holding costs which is substantial. The Home Buyer is required to escrow down payment funds before a transaction is even presented to an Investor. This means there is no wasted time for an investor. RCS provides free Investor training every Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Exodus Title which is located at 2990 West Loop South in Bellaire, TX. Interested parties unable to attend a live presentation are able to watch the presentation by webinar. The link to the Webinar may be found at www. TheReverseClose.com and by Clicking on Events.