Historic Midland

Foundation, The I. A. O’Shaugnessy
Foundation, The Potts-Sibley Foundation, The
Prairie Foundation, and The Scarborough-
Linebery Foundation.
Lower City Taxes
Marked 1970s Effort
by Ernest Angelo, Jr.
When I was elected mayor in 1972, Midland
was suffering through a down cycle in the oil
industry. The city’s general fund was supported
almost totally by property tax income. The unappropriated
surplus was almost non-existent and
another property tax increase seemed inevitable.
Even though a sales tax had been defeated a
year or two before, I supported another election.
The Midland City Council campaigned for the
issue without any outside help or advertising.
The need was explained and a large property tax
cut was promised. The vote was overwhelmingly
in favor. The growth-related sales tax combined
with a reviving oil industry to make three
or four real property tax cuts possible during my
eight years in office. By 1980, Midland’s property
tax rate was one of the lowest of the 25 largest
cities in Texas.
In 1972 Midland’s airport was totally inadequate.
A plan was developed to completely
remodel the terminal. A revenue bond election
was held, and voters approved the project.
Land was acquired, and Midland Center was
constructed using bond funds.
A new Central Fire Station was constructed
between Wall Street and Texas Avenue, allowing
for the building of the fire museum and making
additional space available for the Midland Police
Department.
We initiated the program of assigning patrol
cars to individual officers and allowing them to
utilize them during off-duty hours. It was a
bonus for the officer.
What may have been the most significant
achievement of the period was the identification
of a close-in route for Loop 250 and the successful
effort with Representative Tom Craddick
and Governor Bill Clements to get State support
for right-of-way purchases.
The city played a key role in Midland Park
Mall’s location on the proposed Loop. By
encouraging the inclusion of a Sakowitz store, it
was guaranteed to be the best mall between Fort
Worth and El Paso. Our hope was that the mall’s
location and proper zoning along Loop 250
would make Midland a regional shopping destination.
It took longer than we thought, but it
has come to pass.
The 1970s brought new Federal programs,
and Midland resisted most of them. We refused
to allow Federal funding to subsidize housing.
As a result of the publicity associated with that
refusal a private effort was organized to help
people with inadequate housing. Ultimately, I
believe it was instrumental in Bobby Trimble’s
motivation to start Christmas in April, which
has received national recognition. We also got
the Federal Housing Administration to start a
brand new program to make it possible for people
without established credit to rent repossessed
FHA homes with the option to purchase.
This made it possible for families to acquire residences
they otherwise could not have afforded.
Newspapers Participated
in Building of Midland
Throughout its history, the community of
Midland has been served by newspapers: The
Midland Enterprise, The Staked Plain, The Western
Eye Opener, The Livestock Reporter, The Midland
Livestock Reporter, The Midland Gazette, The
Midland Examiner, The Midland Reporter and
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