Texas Pacific Group (TPG) - The lies of Feinstein through the lies of her husband

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TPG Capital

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"TPG" redirects here. For other uses, see TPG (disambiguation).

TPG Capital

Type	Private
Industry	Private equity
Predecessor	Texas Pacific Group
Founded	1992
Founder	David Bonderman James Coulter William S. Price III
Headquarters	Fort Worth, Texas San Francisco, California United States
Products	Leveraged buyouts, growth capital, venture capital
Total assets	$75 billion
Website	www.TPG.com

TPG Capital (formerly Texas Pacific Group) is an American firm. It is one of the largest private equity investment firms globally, focused on leveraged buyouts, growth capital and leveraged recapitalization investments in distressed companies and turnaround situations. TPG also manages investment funds specializing in growth capital, venture capital, public equity, and debt investments. The firm invests in a broad range of industries including consumer/retail, media and telecommunications, industrials, technology, travel/leisure and health care.
The firm was founded in 1992 by David Bonderman, James Coulter and William S. Price III. Since inception, the firm has raised more than $50 billion of investor commitments across more than 18 private equity funds. ^[1]
TPG is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, and San Francisco, California.^[2] The company has additional offices in Europe, Asia, Australia and other parts of North America.

Contents

• 1 Private equity funds
• 2 History and notable investments
  • 2.1 Founding
  • 2.2 Texas Pacific Group in the late 1990s
  • 2.3 Texas Pacific Group in the early 2000s
  • 2.4 TPG and 2006–2007 buyout boom
  • 2.5 TPG and the credit crisis
  • 2.6 Post-recession activity
• 3 Newbridge Capital
• 4 Criticisms
  • 4.1 Hellas Telecommunications (2015)
• 5 Notable employees
• 6 References
• 7 External links

Private equity funds

TPG has historically relied primarily on private equity funds, pools of committed capital from pension funds, insurance companies, endowments, fund of funds, high-net-worth individuals, sovereign wealth funds, and from other institutional investors. As of the end of 2008, TPG had completed fundraising for over 20 funds with total investor commitments of over $50 billion.
The firm manages investment funds in a number of distinct strategies including:

• TPG's flagship leveraged buyout funds
• Venture capital funds, particularly focused on biotechnology investments
• Distressed debt and other credit strategies invested through a series of funds raised in 2007^[3]
• Asian and Latin American funds, including the firm's Newbridge and TPG Asia fund family
• Other private equity funds. This includes TPG's T3 Partners funds, which invest in technology focused deals alongside the firm's main buyout funds.^{[4] [5]} TPG Star has a broad investment mandate including buyouts, venture capital and growth capital, however all of its investments are at the smaller end of the range, compared to TPG's traditional investments.^[6]

Fund	Vintage Year	Committed Capital ($m)
TPG's Flagship Leveraged Buyout Funds
Texas Pacific Group Partners	1994	$721
Texas Pacific Group Partners II	1997	$2,500
Texas Pacific Group Partners III	2000	$3,414
Texas Pacific Group Partners IV	2003	$5,300
Texas Pacific Group Partners V	2006	$15,000
TPG Partners VI	2008	$19,800
Venture capital funds
TPG Ventures	2001	$339
TPG Biotechnology Partners	2002	$70
TPG Biotechnology Partners II	2006	$402
TPG Biotechnology Partners III	2008	$550
Distressed debt funds
TPG Credit Management I	2007	$1,000
TPG Credit Strategies	2007	$443
Newbridge and TPG Asia funds
Newbridge Investment Partners	1995	$120
Newbridge Latin America	1995	$300
Newbridge Andean Partners	1996	$150
Newbridge Asia II	1998	$392
Newbridge Asia III	2001	$724
Newbridge Asia IV	2005	$1,500
TPG Asia V	2008	$4,250
Other private equity funds
T3 Partners	1999	$1,000
T3 Partners II	2001	$378
TPG Star	2007	$1,500

Source: Preqin^[1]

History and notable investments

History of private equity and venture capital
Early history
(Origins of modern private equity)
The 1980s
(Leveraged buyout boom)
The 1990s
(Leveraged buyout and the venture capital bubble)
The 2000s
(Dot-com bubble to the credit crunch)
v t e

Founding

The Texas Pacific Group, as it was originally known, was founded in 1992 by David Bonderman, James Coulterand William S. Price III. Prior to founding TPG, Bonderman and Coulter had worked for Robert M. Bass making leveraged buyout investments during the 1980s. In 1993, Coulter and Bonderman partnered with William S. Price III, who was Vice President of Strategic Planning and Business Development for GE Capital, to complete the buyout of Continental Airlines. ^[7] At the time, TPG was virtually alone in its conviction that there was an investment opportunity with the airline. The plan included bringing in a new management team, improving aircraft utilization and focusing on lucrative routes. By 1998, TPG had generated an annual internal rate of return of 55% on its investment.

Texas Pacific Group in the late 1990s

In 1997, TPG completed fundraising for its second private equity fund, with over $2.5 billion of investor commitments. In June 1996, TPG acquired the AT&T Paradyne unit, a multimedia communications business, from Lucent Technologies for $175 million.^[8] Also in 1996, TPG invested in Beringer Wine, Ducati Motorcycles and Del Monte Foods.
TPG's most notable 1997 investment was its takeover of J. Crew. TPG acquired an 88% stake in the retailer for approximately $500 million,^[9] however the investment struggled due to the relatively high purchase price paid relative to the company's earnings.^[10] The company was able to complete a turnaround beginning in 2002 and complete an initial public offering in 2006.^[11]
The following year, in 1998, TPG led an investor group in a minority investment in Oxford Health Plans. TPG and its co-investors invested $350 million in a convertible preferred stock that can be converted into 22.1% of Oxford.^[12] The company completed a buyback of the TPG's PIPE convertible in 2000 and would ultimately be acquired by UnitedHealth Group in 2004.^[13]
As the decade came to a close, TPG was once again fundraising, for its third private equity fund. This time, however TPG was raising not only a new buyout fund, but also a new fund, T3 Partners that would invest alongside the main fund in technology oriented investments. In 1999, TPG invested in Piaggio S.p.A, Bally International (including Bally Shoe), and ON Semiconductor.
TPG has also become recognized for its dedicated operations group that has become a major part of the process from investment to sale in many of their portfolio companies. The group is led by Dick Boyce and involves itself in tricky turnaround situations, operations improvement and other tasks that help create value in the company. Other major private equity firms have begun to develop operations group as well, attempting to recreate the model at TPG but most have had trouble creating as expansive a program.

Texas Pacific Group in the early 2000s

In 2000 TPG and Leonard Green & Partners invested $200 million to acquire Petco, the pet supplies retailer as part of a $600 million buyout.^[14] Within two years they sold most of it in a public offering that valued the company at $1 billion. Petco’s market value more than doubled by the end of 2004 and the firms would ultimately realize a gain of $1.2 billion. Then, in 2006, the private equity firms took Petco private again for $1.68 billion. ^[15]
That same year, in 2000, TPG completed the controversial acquisition of Gemplus SA, one of the leading smart card manufacturers. TPG won a struggle with the company's founder, Marc Lassus, for control of the company.^[16] Also in 2000, TPG completed an investment in Seagate Technology.
In 2001, TPG acquired Telenor Media, a Norwegian phone-directory company, for $660 million, and shortly thereafter acquired a controlling interest in the third largest silicon-wafer maker MEMC Electronic Materials.^[17]
In July 2002, TPG, together with Bain Capital and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, announced the high profile $2.3 billion leveraged buyout of Burger King from Diageo.^[18] However, in November the original transaction collapsed, when Burger King failed to meet certain performance targets. In December 2002, TPG and its co-investors agreed on a reduced $1.5 billion purchase price for the investment.^[19] The TPG consortium had support from Burger King's franchisees, who controlled approximately 92% of Burger King restaurants at the time of the transaction. Under its new owners, Burger King underwent a major brand overhaul including the use of The Burger King character in advertising. In February 2006, Burger King announced plans for an initial public offering. ^[20]

TPG's San Francisco offices at 345 California Street

In November 2003, TPG provided a proposal to buy Portland General Electric from Enron. However, concerns about debt and local politics led to Oregon's Public Utilities Commission regulators to deny permission for the purchase March 10, 2005.Oregon Public Utility Commission (March 10, 2005). "ORDER NO. 05-114" (PDF). Retrieved February 1, 2008.
TPG ventured into the film business in late 2004 in the major leveraged buyout of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. A consortium led by TPG and Sony completed the $4.81 billion buyout of the film studio. The consortium also included media-focused firms Providence Equity Partners and Quadrangle Group as well as DLJ Merchant Banking Partners. ^[21] The transaction, which was announced in September 2004, was completed in early 2005.
Also in 2005, TPG was one of seven private equity firms involved in the buyout of SunGard in a transaction valued at $11.3 billion. TPG's partners in the acquisition were Silver Lake Partners, Bain Capital, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Providence Equity Partners, and Blackstone Group. This represented the largest leveraged buyout completed since the takeover of RJR Nabisco at the end of the 1980s leveraged buyout boom. Also, at the time of its announcement, SunGard would be the largest buyout of a technology company in history, a distinction it would cede to the buyout of Freescale Semiconductor. The SunGard transaction is also notable in the number of firms involved in the transaction, the largest club deal completed to that point. The involvement of seven firms in the consortium was criticized by investors in private equity who considered cross-holdings among firms to be generally unattractive.^{[22] [23]}

TPG and 2006–2007 buyout boom

In early 2006, as TPG was completing fundraising for its fifth private equity fund and the buyout boom was entering full swing, TPG co-founder Bill Price announced that he would scale back his work at the firm to focus on personal pursuits including his holdings in wine vineyards. ^[24]
On December 1, 2006, it was announced TPG and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts had been exploring the possibility of a record $100 billion leveraged buyout of the second-largest retailer in the U.S. Home Depot.^[25] Although this massive buyout was never actually completed, TPG was a leading investor during the 2006-2008 buyout boom, completing some of the largest transactions in this period.

Investment	Year	Company Description	Ref.
Neiman Marcus	2005	TPG, together with Warburg Pincus acquired Neiman Marcus Group, the owner of luxury retailers Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, in a $5.1 billion buyout in May 2005.	[26][27]
Freescale Semiconductor	2006	TPG together with The Blackstone Group, The Carlyle Group and Permira completed the $17.6 billion takeover of the semiconductor company. At the time of its announcement, Freescale would be the largest leveraged buyout of a technology company ever, surpassing the 2005 buyout of SunGard.	[28]
Harrah's Entertainment	2006	On December 19, 2006, TPG and Apollo Management announced an agreement to acquire the gaming company for $27.4 billion, including the assumption of existing debt.	[29][30]
Sabre Holdings	2006	TPG and Silver Lake Partners announced a deal to buy Sabre Holdings, which operates Travelocity, Sabre Travel Network and Sabre Airline Solutions, for approximately $4.3 billion in cash, plus the assumption of $550 million in debt. Earlier in the year, Blackstone acquired Sabre's chief competitor Travelport.	[31]
Univision Communications	2006	A consortium of TPG, Madison Dearborn Partners, Providence Equity Partners, Thomas H. Lee Partners and Haim Saban ( Saban Entertainment) acquired The Spanish-language broadcaster on March 12, 2006 in a $13.7 billion leveraged buyout. The buyout left the company with a debt level of twelve times its annual cash flow.	[32][33] [34]
Alltel	2007	TPG and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners announced the acquisition of Alltel Wireless in a $27 billion buyout in May 2007. The transaction was approved by the Federal Communications Commission and closed on November 16, 2007. However just over six months later, on June 5, 2008, TPG and Goldman agreed to sell Alltel to Verizon for slightly more than it had paid for the company amidst a deteriorating economic outlook.	[35][36]
Avaya	2007	TPG and Silver Lake Partners completed an $8.2 billion leveraged buyout of the enterprise telephony and call center technology company that was formerly a unit of Lucent Technologies	[37]
Biomet	2007	TPG, The Blackstone Group, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners acquired the medical devices company for $11.6 billion.	[38]
First Data	2007	TPG and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts completed the $29 billion buyout of the credit and debit card payment processor and former parent of Western Union. Michael Capellas, previously the CEO of MCI Communications and Compaq was named CEO of the privately held company.	[39][40]
Midwest Air Group	2007	On August 12, 2007 Agreed to purchase Midwest Air Group and its subsidiaries including Midwest Airlines ending the hostile takeover attempt by AirTran Airways. Northwest Airlines also invested in the transaction alongside TPG as a passive equity co-investor. On August 14, 2007 Increased its offer to purchase Midwest after a late attempt by Airtran to increase its bid for Midwest. The purchase price was $452 million. Midwest lost money during TPG's ownership having to accept a loan from Republic Airways Holdings to avoid bankruptcy. Republic took over Midwest's fleet. Eventually TPG sold the company to Republic for $31 million.[41]	[42]
Surgical Care Affiliates	2007	In June 2007, TPG completed the carveout of HealthSouth Corporation's ambulatory surgery business for $920 million	[43]
TXU	2007	An investor group, led by TPG and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, and together with Goldman Sachs Capital Partners completed the $44.37 billion buyout of the regulated utility and power producer.[44] The investor group had to work closely with ERCOT regulators to gain approval of the transaction but had significant experience with the regulators from their earlier buyout of Texas Genco. TXU is the largest buyout in history, and retained this distinction when the announced buyout of BCE failed to close in December 2008. The deal is also notable for a drastic change in environmental policy for the energy giant, in terms of its carbon emissions from coal power plants and funding alternative energy.	[45][46]

In early 2007, the firm, officially changed its name to TPG Capital, rebranding all of its funds across different geographies. The firm's Asian funds, which had historically been managed by TPG Newbridge, a joint venture with Blum Capital.^[47]

TPG and the credit crisis

On April 7, 2008, TPG leads a $7 billion investment in Washington Mutual. On September 25, 2008, Washington Mutual is taken over by the government costing TPG a 1.35 Billion dollar investment.
On March 12, 2010, Gretchen Morgensen in the New York Times discussed TPG's role as a private equity investor in Greek mobile phone operator WIND Hellas, formerly TIM Hellas, which filed for bankruptcy protection late last year.^[48] Morgensen raises some interesting questions about the circumstances in which TPG and fellow private equity investors Apax Partners of London redeemed a significant quantity of "convertible preferred equity certificates" held by them to repay their own "deeply subordinated shareholder loans" during a period in which a significant and apparently unexplained spike occurred in the market value of the certificates.

Post-recession activity

On June 10, 2010, TPG announced an acquisition of Vertafore, a provider of software for the insurance industry, for $1.4 billion.^[49]
On July 13, 2011, affiliates of TPG Capital acquired PRIMEDIA for approximately $525 million, or $7.10 per share in cash.^[50] TPG and fellow private equity firm Apollo Global Management are set to IPO their stake in Norwegian Cruise Lines in 2013.^[51]
In July 2013, TPG announced it would buy global education publisher TSL Education from Charterhouse Group for a fee of around $600 million. ^[52]
The Financial Times reported in February 2014 that TPG co-founder David Bonderman was "contemplating" an initial public offering for the private equity group.^[53]
TPG and movie producer Robert Simonds, Jr., announced in March 2014 that they had entered a partnership with China's Hony Capital to produce as many as ten "star-driven" films a year, with mid-range budgets (on the order of $40 million per film).^[54]
In April 2014, it was announced that TPG had invested £200 million in Victoria Plumb after buying a majority stake. ^{[55] [56]}
In November 2014, Prezzo (group) agreed to a £303.7 million takeover by TPG.^[57]
The company is considered a newcomer to the real-estate investment arena. In the first half of 2014, it started to raise funds for a real-estate specific fund. It had a goal of $1.5 billion to $2 billion. By October 2015, the company had exceeded its goal, raising more than $2 billion. ^[58]

Newbridge Capital

In 1994, TPG, Blum Capital and ACON Investments created Newbridge Capital, a joint-venture to invest in emerging markets, particularly Asia and later Latin America. At its peak, Newbridge managed over $3.2 billion. Newbridge was headquartered alongside TPG in Fort Worth and San Francisco with investment offices across the Asia-Pacific region in Hong Kong, Melbourne, Mumbai, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, and Tokyo. In 1995, Newbridge also ventured into Latin America, raising a $300 million fund and then a follow up $150 million fund in 1996. After its debut funds in the mid-1990s, Newbridge did not continue to focus on Latin America.
Since its founding, Newbridge developed a specialization in five broad industry groups: financial services, technology and telecom, healthcare, consumer, and industrials. Newbridge was involved in a number of the largest and most notable private equity transactions in Asia including:

• Shenzhen Development Bank - the first control purchase of a Chinese national bank by a foreign entity since 1949
• Korea First Bank - the first foreign acquisition of a South Korean bank
• Hanaro Telecom - a major Asian proxy contest, that was the largest at that time
• Matrix Laboratories - the largest private equity transaction in the Indian pharmaceutical industry, to that point

In the early 2000s, TPG assumed full ownership and control over the Newbridge joint venture, renaming the firm TPG Newbridge. At the beginning of 2007, when the firm officially changed its name from Texas Pacific Group to TPG Capital, TPG Newbridge's Asian funds were also rebranded as the TPG Asia Funds.
TPG remained active in Asia in 2008. On August 4, TPG, along with Global Infrastructure Partners, offered to buy Asciano Limited for AUD 2.9 billion in an unsuccessful attempt to complete an unsolicited takeover. On October 31, 2008, TPG completed the purchase of a 35% interest in P.T. Bumi Resources, from its previous owner Bakrie & Brothers, Indonesia, for $1.3 billion.

Criticisms

Hellas Telecommunications (2015)

In 2006, during the Apax fraud, Nikesh Arora was placed by investors TPG and Apax on the board of WIND Hellas (formerly TIM Hellas).^[59] Under Arora's direction, €1.6 billion were embezzled from TIM Hellas by misuse of company debts, a ransack operation codenamed ‘Project Troy’ by the official liquidator.^{[60] [61]} TPG and Apax were condemned in 2014 by a NY court to repay $565 million to the private investors. ^[62] In 2014, the Luxembourg liquidator sued TPG and Apax for 1.3 billion corresponding to the amount not recovered from the Arora embezzlement.^[63] The Greek general prosecutor opened an investigation against TPG, Apax and all main implicated parties including Nikesh Arora under art.1608/1950 of the Greek criminal code for "Crimes against the people of Greece”.^{[64][65] [66]}
In the meantime, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales reprimanded Ernst & Young (now EY) for its involvement in the Wind Hellas scandal reportedly being charged with signing off the big increase in debt and payments to TPG and Apax Partners in 2006-07, and of allegedly acting as an administrator when Hellas was put into liquidation.^{[60] [61][63] [67]}

Notable employees

• Kevin Rollins - former President & CEO of Dell Computers
• Bernard Attali, former chairman of Air France and brother of Jacques Attali
• Vivek Paul, former Vice Chairman of Wipro Technologies and CEO of its global information technology, product engineering, and business process services segments
• Mary Ma^[68] - Former CFO of Lenovo, and was listed in the top ten of the Fortune "50 Most Powerful Women" in 2005 and 2006
• William Hawkins - President & CEO of Immucor and former CEO of Medtronic

References

1. 
   

Source: Preqin

"Contact TPG."

Cargill alum to lead $1B fund here. Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal, April 14, 2006

TPG Prepares To Launch Its Sixth Large Buyout Fund, Buyouts (magazine), December 3, 2007

Texas Pacific Group closes at half original target. [AltAssets, March 2002

TPG raises $1.2b for downstream deals. Private Equity Week, October 22, 2007

Little-known S.F. firm specializes in complex buyouts. San Francisco Chronicle, June 2, 2002

LUCENT TECHNOLOGIES AGREES TO SELL AT&T PARADYNE UNIT. New York Times, June 20, 1996

STEINHAUER, JENNIFER. "J. Crew Caught in Messy World of Finance as It Sells Majority Stake." New York Times, October 18, 1997

KAUFMAN, LESLIE and ATLAS, RIVA D. "In a Race to the Mall, J. Crew Has Lost Its Way." New York Times, April 28, 2002.

ROZHON, TRACIE. "New Life for a Stalwart Preppy: J. Crew's Sales Are Back." New York Times, December 9, 2004.

Norris, Floyd. "SHAKE-UP AT A HEALTH GIANT: THE RESCUERS; Oxford Investors Build In Some Insurance, in Case Things Don't Work Out." New York Times, February 25, 1998.

"COMPANY NEWS; PROFITS TRIPLE AT OXFORD; TEXAS PACIFIC BUYBACK SET." New York Times, October 26, 2000.

"COMPANY NEWS; MANAGEMENT-LED GROUP TO BUY PETCO FOR $505 MILLION." New York Times, May 18, 2000

"2 Equity Firms to Acquire Petco ." Bloomberg L.P., July 15, 2006.

Gemplus falls to the enemy within, December 1, 2002

"Bloomberg". Bloomberg.com.

U.S. Investors Agree to Buy Burger King From Diageo for $2.26 Billion. New York Times, July 26, 2002

A Lower Price Is Said to Revive Burger King Sale, New York Times, December 12, 2002

Grace Wong (May 12, 2006). "Burger King IPO set to fire up". CNN Money. Retrieved September 30, 2007.

SORKIN, ANDREW ROSS. "Sony-Led Group Makes a Late Bid to Wrest MGM From Time Warner." New York Times, September 14, 2004

"Capital Firms Agree to Buy SunGard Data in Cash Deal." Bloomberg L.P., March 29, 2005

Do Too Many Cooks Spoil the Takeover Deal?. New York Times, April 3, 2005

Texas Pacific founder to scale back involvement with firm, San Francisco Business Times, February 28, 2006

"Report: Texas Pacific eyeing Home Depot". Dallas Business Journal.

2 Equity Firms Set to Acquire Neiman Marcus. New York Times, May 2, 2005

Neiman Marcus in $5.1B buyout CNN Money, May 2, 2005

SORKIN, ANDREW ROSS and FLYNN, LAURIE J. "Blackstone Alliance to Buy Chip Maker for $17.6 Billion." New York Times, September 16, 2006

Sorkin, Andrew Ross. "Harrah’s Is Said to Be in Talks to Accept $16.7 Billion Buyout." New York Times, December 18, 2006. Purchase price includes purchase of the outstanding equity for $16.7 billion and assumption of $10.7 billion of outstanding debt.

"Harrah's Entertainment board agrees to $90 a share buyout bid", Las Vegas Sun, December 19, 2006.

Sorkin, Andrew Ross. "2 Firms Pay $4.3 Billion for Sabre." New York Times, December 12, 2006.

Univision to Be Acquired by Madison Dearborn Partners, Providence Equity Partners, Texas Pacific Group, Thomas H. Lee Partners and Saban Capital Group for $13.7 Billion Univision Press Release, June 27, 2006

Behind Buyout Surge, A Debt Market Booms. Wall Street Journal, June 26, 2007

"Univision sale approved, Abercrombie & Fitch to replace it on the S&P 500,"

http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-07-185A1.pdf

"News Releases". corporate-ir.net.

"Investment Firms Pick Up Avaya For $8.2 Billion". InformationWeek.

de la MERCED, MICHAEL J. "Biomet Accepts Sweetened Takeover Offer." New York Times, June 8, 2007.

"K.K.R. Offer of $26 Billion Is Accepted by First Data." Reuters, April 3, 2007.

Kohlberg Kravis to Buy First Data for $29 Billion. NY Times, April 3, 2007

Tom Daykin. "Republic Airways to buy Midwest Airlines". jsonline.com.

Behind the Battle for Midwest Air. New York Times, September 28, 2007

HealthSouth To Sell Surgery Division To TPG - News - MSNBC.com

Source: Thomson Financial

Lonkevich, Dan and Klump, Edward. KKR, Texas Pacific Will Acquire TXU for $45 Billion Bloomberg, February 26, 2007.

"KKR, Texas Pacific-led group to buy TXU Corp". Reuters. February 26, 2007.

‘Sorry, Sir. Texas Pacific Group Isn’t Here Anymore’. Wall Street Journal, March 1, 2007

Morgenson, Gretchen (March 13, 2010). "Private Equity and Wind Hellas: A Tale of Debt". The New York Times.

Grocer, Stephen (June 11, 2010). "Deal Profile: TPG Agrees to Acquire Vertafore". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 3, 2016.

PRIMEDIA INC. Acquired by TPG CAPITAL

Norwegian Cruise Line Sets Price Range for I.P.O.

Sebastian Sadr-Salek, Anjuli Davies and Claire Ruckin (July 8, 2013). "U.S. buyout firm TPG to buy TSL Education for $600 million". Reuters.

The Financial Times[1] by Anne-Sylvaine Chassany, February 25, 2014

The Hollywood Reporter[2] March 10, 2014

"Victoria Plumb set for £200 million boost as housing market picks up". Daily Mirror. Retrieved April 1, 2014.

Armstrong, Ashley (April 1, 2014). "Victoria Plumb sells stake to TPG". London: The Telegraph. Retrieved May 12, 2014.

Martin, Ben (November 7, 2014). "Hedge fund takes Prezzo position". London: The Telegraph. Retrieved November 14, 2014.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/tpg-raises-2-billion-in-real-estate-fund-1444172401

http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=11341911&ticker=GOOG Nikesh Arora - Executive summary

http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21654680-pressure-mounts-two-private-equity-giants-did-very-well-out-disastrous Another Greek Tragedy - The Economist

http://www.chadbourne.com/files/upload/Hellas_Adversary_Complaint.pdf United States Bankruptcy Court Southern District of New York

http://www.cnbc.com/id/102201516 Greek tragedy: Telecom focus of bloody PE fight

http://www.financialexpress.com/article/companies/greek-co-wants-damages-from-indian-origin-investor-and-softbank-vc-nikesh-arora/95853/ Greek company wants damages from Indian-origin investor and Softbank VC Nikesh Arora

https://medium.com/@DailyNews/nikesh-arora-vs-hellas-intervention-by-the-public-prosecutor-after-the-revelations-of-the-%CE%BD%CE%B5%CF%89%CE%BD-3c5703a1be47 Nikesh Arora VS Hellas: Intervention by the Public Prosecutor after the revelations of the “ΝΕΩΝ”

http://www.tanea.gr/news/economy/article/5252394/o-doyreios-ippos-twn-ksenwn-funds-kai-o-indos-megistanas/ «Σχέδιο Τροία» κατά ΤΙΜ: Ο δούρειος ίππος των ξένων funds και ο ινδός μεγιστάνας

http://www.ceelegalmatters.com/index.php/legal-analysis-white-collar-crime/item/2738-recent-developments-regarding-white-collar-crime-in-greece Recent Developments Regarding White Collar Crime in Greece

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/16/ernst-young-hellas-fine-idUSL5N0Z242H20150616 EY fined for conflict of interest over Hellas

68. TPG hires Mary Ma for China push 07 Sep 2007

• Texas Pacific Group Inc. - Company History. Funding Universe
• Texas Pacific Goes Where Others Fear to Spend. New York Times, August 25, 2002
• TPG Profile at Yahoo.com

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TPG to Buy ProLogis Assets

Dec. 21, 2010 3:29 p.m. ET

Warehouse company ProLogis said it is selling a portfolio of retail and mixed-use assets to private-equity firm TPG for $505 million, the latest in a series of sales by ProLogis as the company seeks to pay down debt and get in position for future growth.
Publicly traded ProLogis bought the properties being sold as part of its $3.6 billion acquisition of Catellus Development Corp. in 2005. The portfolio includes four shopping centers, two office buildings, 11 mixed-use projects, and Los Angeles Union Station. ProLogis said the sales price isn't comparable to the Catellus acquisition price because other assets from the Catellus portfolio have been sold in recent years.
ProLogis, which went on a debt-fueled expansion binge during the boom years, faced a cash crunch in 2008. It has been repairing its balance sheet, selling stock and property. In October, it announced the sale of 180 industrial properties, a minority interest in a hotel, and stakes in three investment funds to private-equity firm Blackstone Group LP for $1.02 billion.
"The Catellus assets are high quality with good long-term prospects, but they are not in keeping with our strategy to concentrate our investment in core industrial properties in the world's major logistics corridors," ProLogis Chief Executive Walter C. Rakowich said in a statement.

—Anton Troianovski

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Mortgage-backed securities -Leveraging Wiki

This is a starting point for my personal explanation of Mortgage-backed Securities. 


My career history was brief but intensive, the company has folded, sold off and eaten alive by Wall Street with scraps fed to the Feds for their last supper.  If

Mortgage-backed security

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Securities
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Bonds by coupon[show]
Bonds by issuer[show]
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Derivatives[show]
v t e

A mortgage-backed security (MBS) is a type of asset-backed security that is secured by a mortgage or collection of mortgages. The mortgages are sold to a group of individuals (a government agency or investment bank) that securitizes, or packages, the loans together into a security that investors can buy. The mortgages of an MBS may be residential or commercial, depending on whether it is an Agency MBS or a Non-Agency MBS; in the United States they may be issued by structures set up by government-sponsored enterprises like Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, or they can be "private-label", issued by structures set up by investment banks. The structure of the MBS may be known as "pass-through", where the interest and principal payments from the borrower or homebuyer pass through it to the MBS holder, or it may be more complex, made up of a pool of other MBSs. Other types of MBS include collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs, often structured as real estate mortgage investment conduits) and collateralized debt obligations (CDOs).^[1]
The shares of subprime MBSs issued by various structures, such as CMOs, are not identical but rather issued as tranches (French for "slices"), each with a different level of priority in the debt repayment stream, giving them different levels of risk and reward. Tranches—especially the lower-priority, higher-interest tranches—of an MBS are/were often further repackaged and resold as collaterized debt obligations.^[2] These subprime MBSs issued by investment banks were a major issue in the subprime mortgage crisis of 2006–8.
The total face value of an MBS decreases over time, because like mortgages, and unlike bonds, and most other fixed-income securities, the principal in an MBS is not paid back as a single payment to the bond holder at maturity but rather is paid along with the interest in each periodic payment (monthly, quarterly, etc.). This decrease in face value is measured by the MBS's "factor", the percentage of the original "face" that remains to be repaid.

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Concord City Council

Contact Your City Council

Address:
1950 Parkside Drive, MS/01
Concord, CA 94519
Phone: (925) 671-3158. Fax: (925) 798-0636
CityCouncil@cityofconcord.org
Note: For correspondence sent to City Council, City Clerk or City Treasurer, please put Attention; followed by the name of the specific elected official.

Elected Officials

Mayor Laura M. Hoffmeister
Laura Hoffmeister, a lifelong Concord resident, was first elected to the City Council in 1997 and reelected in 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014. She served as Mayor in 2001, 2005, 2009, and 2011, Vice Mayor in 2000, 2004 and 2015, and Chair of the Concord Redevelopment Agency in 1999, 2003, and 2008.
Hoffmeister is active in her support of the various veterans and support organizations including VFW Post 1525 - Clayton Valley; Blue Star Moms and Diablo Valley Veterans. She is a past recipient of Contra Costa Women's Hall of Fame Community Leadership Award.
Prior to election, Hoffmeister served as Chair of the Redevelopment Advisory Committee (RAC), Vice Chair of the Design Review Board, and was an active member of the Economic Development Task Force, Main Street Committee, County Connection Citizen Advisory Committee and the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce.
She formerly served on the boards of the Concord Historical Society, American Association of University Women, and is a graduate of Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce's "Leadership Concord" Academy.
She holds a BS degree in City and Environmental Planning from the University of California, Davis.

Vice Mayor Ron Leone
Ron Leone, a resident of Concord since 1978, was elected to the City Council in 2010, re-elected in 2014. He served as Mayor in 2012 and Vice Mayor in 2014. Leone served 35 years in education as a high school teacher and principal. He was the teacher of the year in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District and teachers' association president. He coached high school baseball, and several championship mock trial and constitutional academic teams.
Leone was raised in the lower socio-economic, Bay View/Hunter's Point District of San Francisco, but worked his way through college earning his BA and teaching credential from San Francisco State and his MA and Administrative credential from St. Mary's college in Moraga.
Prior to his election on the City Council he served as an elected member of the Mt. Diablo Hospital District Board for 16 years; he also served as the Chairman of the Board of the John Muir Hospitals and the City's Planning Commission.

Councilmember Edi E. Birsan
Edi E. Birsan was elected to the City Council in November 2012 after being the runner-up in the 2010 election. He is an active community leader and has served in many positions, from the Director of Community Services for Concord-Diablo Rotary to the President of the Friends of the Library, to volunteer for numerous non-profit organizations.
Birsan came to Concord in 1983 working for a global, inter-modal container leasing company. He started his own company in 1986, which currently focuses on certification/inspection and service in the inter-modal equipment field. He brings a history of running a small business as well as world-class experience in pioneering efforts at containerization of global trade.
Birsan was born and raised in New York City where he earned his B.A. degree in dual majors of History and Political Science from City University-CCNY. He and his wife (they were high school sweethearts) have raised two generations in Concord and have lived in the same house since 1983 in the area off of Monument Blvd.

Councilmember Tim Grayson
Tim Grayson has been a Concord resident since 2001 and was elected to serve on the Concord City Council in 2010, and re-elected in 2014. He served as Vice Mayor in 2013, Mayor in 2014 -15, Chair and Vice‐Chair of the Local Reuse Authority, and Redevelopment Chair and Vice‐Chair.
Grayson has been a general contractor since 1999, currently serves as the Concord Police Critical Response Chaplain, and leads a church congregation. He serves or has served on the following: Association of Bay Area Governments (city delegate), Citizen Core Emergency Response Team, League of Cities Community Services Committee (State), League of Cities Annual Conference Committee, U.S. Conference of Mayors Criminal and Social Justice Committee, U.S. Conference of Mayors Tourism, Arts, Parks, Entertainment, & Sports Committee, and member of the Concord Chamber of Commerce.
Grayson holds a B.A degree from Christian Life College in Stockton. He has received the Presidential Volunteer Service Award for the past six years, and successfully completed Levels I and II of the League of Cities Leadership Program. He and his wife Tammy have been married for 27 years and have two children, Joseph and Cassie.

Councilmember Daniel C. Helix
Daniel C. Helix was appointed to the City Council in February 2011to fill a vacant position, and was subsequently the top vote-getter in the November 2012 election. He served as mayor in 2013. Helix was previously elected to the City Council in 1968, was reelected in 1972 and served as Mayor from 1972-74. In 2007-08, he served as co-chair of the Community Advisory Committee for the Concord Naval Weapons Station Reuse Project.
Helix is a past president of the Rotary Club of Concord and the former Mt. Diablo Hospital Foundation, now John Muir Health, Concord Campus. He served on the Board of the All Wars Memorial Foundation and is active in numerous philanthropic and military organizations. He served on a U.S. Congressional Commission considering changes in the Department of the Army and Governor Schwarzenegger's Military Base Retention Commission.
Helix earned a bachelor's degree in History from the University of California at Berkeley, and a master's degree in Political Science at the San Francisco State University. Both degrees were conferred magna cum laude. He is a graduate of the Army's Command and General Staff College and the War College. Helix retired as a major general in the U. S. Army in 1989. He completed a 41-year career serving both on active duty and with the Army Reserve.
Helix is a published author of an award-winning novel set in the Korean War era and has several published articles and short stories that have been published in military journals. He lives in Concord with his wife, Mary Lou. They have two children and five grandchildren.

Concord City Treasurer Tim McGallian
Tim McGallian was appointed to the City Treasurer position by the City Council after the retirement of Thomas Wentling in July 2015. McGallian previously served on the City of Concord Planning Commission from 2010 to 2015 and is president of the Todos Santos Business Association Arts Foundation.
McGallian was vice-chair of the Board of Directors of the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce from 2010 to 2015, and chaired the Chamber’s Government Affairs and Economic Development Committee from 2008-2012.
He also has been active in community organizations, and served as president of the Greater Concord Kiwanis Club from 2009 to 2011 and as president of the St. Agnes School Board from 2008-2015. He has worked with the Boy Scouts, and served as head coach for the Concord American Little League and CYO Basketball.
McGallian is a Business Underwriting Specialist for State Farm Insurance for Alameda & Contra Costa Counties. He holds a BA in Strategic Management and another in Marketing from Sacramento State University. He had his wife, Michelle, have three children: Andrew Alyssa and Audrey.

Council Standing Committees

There are currently five standing City Council Committees, each of which is made up of two Councilmembers. The committees meet monthly and make recommendations to the City Council for action on items they have considered.
The Mayor makes new committee assignments following the reorganization of the City Council at the end of the calendar year. Committee members serve one-year terms. Committee agendas are available on the City's Web site.

Committee	Chair/Member	Meeting Time
Housing and Economic Development	Leone/Helix	4th Monday, 5:30 pm, Garden Conference Room
Infrastructure and Franchise	Helix/Birsan	2nd Monday, 5:30 pm, Garden Conference Room
Policy Development and Internal Operations	Hoffmeister/Leone	2nd Thursday, 5:30 pm, Garden Conference Room
Recreation, Cultural Affairs and Community Services	Grayson/Hoffmeister	4th Thursday, 5:30 pm, City Manager's Conference Room
Youth and Education	Birsan/Grayson	3rd Monday, 5:30 pm, Garden Conference Room

External Appointments	Member/Alternate
Association of Bay Area Governments General Assembly (ABAG)	Grayson/Helix
Central Contra Costa Transit Authority (CCCTA)	Hoffmeister/Leone
Central County Literacy Coalition	Birsan/Hoffmeister
Citizen Core Emergency Response Team	Grayson/Helix
League of California Cities (East Bay Division)	Leone/Grayson
Transportation Partnership and Cooperation Regional Committee (TRANSPAC) p1000	Leone/Grayson

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Adventures of Sovernity - AIS February 27th 2015

Your Moderator is _____ CW?

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FINAL REPORT OF THE MAYOR'S TASK FORCE ON TECHNOLOGY IMPLEMENTATION August 1999

FINAL REPORT
OF THE MAYOR'S TASK FORCE
ON TECHNOLOGY IMPLEMENTATION

August 1999

Office of the Mayor
City of San Antonio
P.O. Box 839966
San Antonio, Texas 78283-3966
(210) 207-7060

MAYOR'S TASK FORCE ON
TECHNOLOGY IMPLEMENTATION

Dr. Thomas F. Brereton, Chair
Consultant in Planning and Public Affairs

Tim Bannwolf City Councilman, City of San Antonio	Elizabeth Mesenbring Women in Communications Multimedia Consultant
Jim Brandes Deputy Director Alamo Area Council of Governments	Chris Montgomery Blue Knight Internet Solutions
Mike Coleman Southwestern Bell Telephone Company	Richard Murphy Southwest Research Institute
Dr. Gerry Dizinno Assistant to the President for Planning and Institutional Research St. Mary's University	Chris Powers Director of Data Resources San Antonio Water System
Bill Gonzalez Owner Web-Hed Technologies	Dr. Ann Elizabeth Robinson International Business Development Consultant; Visiting Assistant Professor, International Business, University of the Incarnate Word
Dudley Hays Owner You Are Here Company	John Szurek Information Ways and Means, Inc.
Rev. Ann Helmke Animating Director peaceCenter, San Antonio	Charles Vaughn Senior Vice President for Telecommunications KLRN-TV
Susan Ives Internet Evangelist	Stan Waghalter Neighborhood Activist
Roselyn Marcus Attorney	Terry Weakly Chief Operating Officer nuMedia Group, Inc.
Pleas McNeel President, South Central Texas Chapter, The Internet Society (SalsaNet)	David Zolzer Director, Economic Commerce Program Our Lady of the Lake University

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The task force gratefully acknowledges the contributions of a number of people who - although they were not "members" of the task force, or were forced to withdraw from full participation in our work before its conclusion - nevertheless contributed their insights and support to our effort at various stages. These include:

Tom Baggs Director of Operations Center for Distance Learning and Telehealth UT Health Science Center, San Antonio	Dee McGee President Maximum Management Resources, Inc.
Mary Ellen Burns United Way of San Antonio	Ian Murdock Director, New Media San Antonio Express-News
Gary Chapman Director, 21st Century Project The University of Texas at Austin	Steven F. Nail Senior Systems Engineering Consultant Southwestern Bell Telephone Company
Brian Erickson Manager, Great Northwest Community Improvement Association	Brad Parrott Executive Director, External Affairs Southwestern Bell Telephone Company
Paul Fayfich President P.R. Fayfich & Associates, Inc.	Jonathan Schmidt Chief Technical Officer I.C.E.D. Division, Bat Networks
Chuck Frawley Senior Vice President of Sales and Operations Manager FIData, Inc.	Juan Sepulveda Executive Director The Common Enterprise/San Antonio
Barbara Hendricks Women In Communications	Roger Topping Chief Engineer KVDA-TV 60
Cy Hutchinson Manager of Information and Communication Services City Public Service	Don White Matchframe Productions
Phil Jackson Network Communications Consultant FIBRCOM	Susan Yerkes Columnist, San Antonio Express-News
Rosemary Killen Southwest Research Institute

We also acknowledge the contributions of the following city staff, who gave generously of their time and effort, on top of all of their regular responsibilities:

Tony Bosmans Director, Community Relations Department	Emil Moncivais Director, Planning Department
Nancy Dean Information Services Department	Bill Wood Assistant City Attorney
June Garcia Director, San Antonio Public Library	Craig Zapatos Central Library Administrator San Antonio Public Library
Gary J. Moeller Director, Information Services Department

Finally, we owe a special debt of gratitude to the volunteers of SalsaNet - and particularly to Susan Ives and Bill Gonzalez - who provided invaluable technical support in setting up and maintaining our task force listserv, web site, and public discussion board.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

SERVICES AND TRANSACTIONS

INFORMATION AND CITIZEN INVOLVEMENT

RECOMMENDATIONS

Services and Transactions

Information and Citizen Involvement

Marketing and Economic Development

Budget Recommendations

Next Steps

INTRODUCTION

The Mayor's Task Force on Technology Implementation was one of two task forces commissioned by Mayor Howard Peak in the summer of 1997 to move San Antonio toward the reality of a technologically "smart city." This task force was given a three part mandate:

To recommend strategies to improve both the efficiency and the effectiveness of City services by using new and emerging technologies to decentralize services and transactions.

To recommend strategies to fully exploit the potential of the Internet as a means to inform citizens better, to involve citizens in their local government, and to market San Antonio in economic development.

To explore related issues and make recommendations as the task force finds appropriate. Specifically included in this was to make recommendations on the City 's organizational structure and budget priorities to maximize the benefits of new technologies, both to the city government and to the city as a community.

At the same time, the "twin" to this task force, known as SATNET, was given a mandate to develop a plan for the physical infrastructure of a metropolitan telecommunications network, and to develop network linkages among the City and the school districts, universities, hospitals, libraries and research institutions in the San Antonio area. The two task forces had overlapping membership, and both were given generous volunteer support by SalsaNet (http://www.salsa.net), including maintenance of a web page for their joint use (http://www.salsa.net/metronet) and a public discussion board.

The Technology Implementation Task Force divided itself into three subcommittees which approximately paralleled the major elements of its mandate: Services and Transactions, Citizen Information and Involvement, and Marketing and Economic Development. Each subcommittee began by studying the programs that have been implemented in other cities that are recognized as models in the creative and effective uses of new technologies in its subject area, and assessing San Antonio against that background. Their interim reports at that stage provided the foundation for the recommendations contained in this Final Report. The task force as a whole also submitted a report of Interim Budget Recommendations in June 1998. All of these previous reports were published on the task force's web site.

This report contains edited and updated versions of two of the three subcommittee interim reports and the recommendations of the task force as a whole. (The Marketing and Economic Development Subcommittee did not complete a written report in time for inclusion in this document.  However, its recommendations were considered by the task force as a whole in formulating the overall group's recommendations.)  For brevity, we emphasize our findings about San Antonio and the background for our recommendations, rather than our assessment of other cities. The recommendations section includes updated budget/organizational recommendations as well as the task force 's recommendations for the "Next Steps" which San Antonio should take in order to become a Smart City in the 21st century.

SERVICES AND TRANSACTIONS

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS

From our research, two general observations can be made regarding the use of technology to provide decentralized services to citizens:

At this stage, governmental instrumentalities are currently using technology mostly to provide information to the citizens of their jurisdiction. The actual provision of services or the ability to engage in transactions with governmental instrumentalities is still limited.

Governmental instrumentalities are currently using kiosk systems as their main source of technology in decentralizing the provision of services and transactions.

SERVICES AND TRANSACTIONS IN OTHER PLACES

The subcommittee did an extensive search of the web pages maintained by other local and state governments, and by selected cities in other countries which have been identified as leaders in the field. Inevitably, this research has a very short half-life of currency and accuracy, and it would be tedious to detail all of the features we found at each site. Therefore this section merely summarizes some highlights and provides links to the web sites where more specific information can be found.

The States Inventory Project (http://www.states.org) helps states develop their advanced telecommunications infrastructure by providing a single clearinghouse for tracking state National Information Infrastructure (NII) activities. The States Inventory Project has created an on-line, interactive resource where contributors can post state NII related information. There is a section on this web site called On-Line Delivery of Services, which is broken down into the following subcategories:

telemedicine,
telejustice,
libraries,
kiosks,
benefits distribution,
emergency services, and
other services (environmental permits, traffic tickets).

Each subcategory lists various projects being developed, tested or used in the states. Many states are using video-conferencing to bring people together to share ideas and information. This is especially prevalent in the telemedicine area. Videoconferencing is also being used in the telejustice arena to allow for hearings without the time and expense of everyone traveling to the same location.

Iowa Access (http://www.state.ia.us/government/iitt/iowaccess/index.htm) is an intergovernmental effort that encompasses 14 technology projects, a Steering Committee and a Citizen Council. Some of the projects include obtaining, on-line, business licenses and environmental permits.

The state of Washington delivers information via kiosks and will be expanding the kiosks to allow for payment. In 1999, the state received three top awards for outstanding technology innovations that improve government services. (http://www.wa.gov/dis/).

Massachusetts provides a large number of application forms on-line which citizens can download and use . It also allows on-line transactions dealing with the renewal of drivers and automobile licenses (http://www.magnet.state.ma.us/rmv/index.htm).

The City of Santa Monica has an advanced Public Electronic Network (http://pen.ci.santa-monica.ca.us). In addition to providing a large amount of information, it allows the following services to be transacted on-line:

Business License Tax Renewal,
Board, Commission, Committee and Citizen Task Force Application,
Consumer Complaint,
Job Interest Card,
Graffiti Removal Request,
Library Card Registration,
Petty Theft Report,
Recreation Class Signup,
Street Maintenance Job Request,
Report on Traffic Conditions,
Volunteer Registration,
AIDS/Sexual Orientation Discrimination Complaint,
General City Complaint,
Bus Itinerary Request, and
Airport Noise Complaint.

The Minnesota Internet Center (http://www.internetcenter.state.mn.us) assists Minnesota communities in realizing the community development potential of information and telecommunications technologies. It provides links to other sites including Minnesota localities regarding their technology projects.

The Davis Community Network (http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/dcn/projects) provides a list and description of technology projects. However, most the projects listed deal more with information than with the actual provision of services.

"abagOnline" (http://www.abag.org/home.html), by the Association of Bay Area Governments in the San Francisco Bay Area, is perhaps the best regional guide to local government services in a large metropolitan region. It provides a wide variety of information about the region, and ABAG also hosts websites for a number of its local governments.

In other countries, one of the most advanced cities in the use of technology for service delivery is Brisbane, Australia. That city has created a corporate subsidiary, Brisbane City Enterprises, to sell a menu of the city's technology and management services to other governments. For example, its "intelligent transport system" tracks buses with electronic sensors in the pavement, compares that information with the schedule, opens up green lights ahead to speed any that are delayed, and even flashes projected arrival times to waiting passengers. It also offers a system of mobile laptops and hand-held computers to report, track and coordinate work orders for city departments, and a digital mapping system which is easily accessed by citizens and businesses.

In addition to governmental and public sites, a number of software developers are active in developing particular applications of technology in local government services. For example, several competitors have developed systems to allow for obtaining construction permits on-line. A Permit Automation Conference was scheduled for 1998 in Reno, Nevada, hosted by one of these permit software companies (http://www.permitsnet.com).

STATUS OF SAN ANTONIO

Any research on the provision of decentralized services should begin with what is currently being provided by the City of San Antonio itself.

Via the "Community Link" kiosk system currently in place, the following services and transactions can be performed:

Pay traffic citations, parking citations, and various other misdemeanor citations
Purchase garage sale permits
Make reservations for park sites
Order and pay for a copy of immunization records.

When the task force began its study, it was also possible to look up and pay the City's property tax on any parcel inside the city limits through a kiosk transaction. However, an unfortunate minor side effect of the recent consolidation of city and county property tax collection is that this service is no longer available.

In the future, citizens will also be able to make and file city complaints.

The kiosks also provide access to the City's home page on the web. Through this, citizens can obtain a wealth of information about the city government and city services, and in some cases they can initiate requests for service. These services include public works and code compliance. Potential bidders on City contracts can also print out an application to be put on the City bid list, but this application must be returned by mail.

At this point, San Antonio's kiosk network is about as advanced as any we have found in this kind of application. It encompasses a reasonable range of service transactions which are of genuine value to the average citizen in everyday life. The access to the City's web page appears to be a distinct "plus," compared to other kiosk systems. However, the range of service transactions which could be made accessible through the kiosks still substantially exceeds the City's resources for application development, and priorities for further development of the system are undefined. Thus, the system will become progressively less and less impressive compared to similar technology used in other places, unless the City continues to invest additional resources in additional applications.

In addition, the focus of this system on citizen-oriented services - and its trumpeting as the "flagship" of City technology initiatives - have perhaps diverted attention from another equally important dimension of technology in services and transactions. The blunt fact is, San Antonio has done little worth mentioning in applying new technology to facilitate any kind of business transaction with the city government - everything from bidding on City contracts to applying for a building permit or a zoning variance. These applications are more suited to the environment of the Internet and the city's web page than they are to a kiosk system, and they are likely to involve major "re-engineering " of city administrative processes. In addition, they often face obstacles such as obsolete legal requirements (e.g., involving signatures and professional seals) which the City cannot overcome without support from the state. In this respect, the City merely reflects the common situation of other places, which have done much better in providing information than they have in actually delivering services.

INFORMATION AND CITIZEN INVOLVEMENT

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS

Many cities (as well as states and other local governments) provide extensive information to their citizens and others through pages on the worldwide web. The scope of the information they offer ranges from relatively static and pedestrian information of general public interest (e.g., bus schedules and library hours) through informative materials for more specialized and attentive audiences, which require regular and timely updating (e.g., City Council minutes and commission agendas). Codes and various regulations are often available for browsing and downloading. Commonly, forms are provided for at least a few, relatively simple requests for service (e.g., pothole repairs or missing street signs), and email links direct information requests and other inquiries to the proper office for a response. Sometimes a city's web page contains extensive links to related agencies, but typically this is a minor aspect of the site compared to information about the services of the individual jurisdiction itself. Smaller cities also often make available general background information about the community - demographics, local attractions and civic events, etc. Generally, local government web sites are fairly simple but attractive in their design, and easy to navigate.

Compared to such relatively passive provision of information, few cities provide very much in the way of actual access to records and services (e.g., to place a "hold" on a library book in circulation, as opposed to merely viewing a map of branch locations and information about their hours and programs.) One of the best that we have found in this respect is the site maintained by the City of Indianapolis/Marion County, Indiana (www.IndyGov.org), which won a 1997 Global Information Infrastructure award in the government category for its strength in this dimension.

STATUS OF SAN ANTONIO

Compared to other large cities, San Antonio's web site (http://www.ci.sat.tx.us) is relatively extensive in sheer size, with a separate page for almost every department, in addition to a few general pages (including a useful directory of services and a "what's new" page). These pages provide basic information about the activities and organization of the city government, descriptive information about city services, and some ability to contact particular offices (telephone numbers and some email links). This information is generally helpful and descriptive enough to assist most citizens in getting basic descriptions of city functions and services.

Other observers have rated San Antonio relatively favorably regarding electronic access, use and services. For example, a 1998 evaluation by Yahoo of "America's 100 Most Wired Cities" ranked San Antonio 27th, with this ranking based partly on "bonus points" awarded for electronic access to the city government.

Beneath this broad surface, however, San Antonio's use of telecommunications technology for information and access has some major deficiencies.

In the view of this task force, perhaps the city's greatest shortcoming is the sheer unevenness of its web pages. Until now, the city's policy has been to have each department develop its own web page independently of every other department. The majority of these (if not all of them) have been developed by outside consultants - also working independently of each other. The Information Services Department maintains the city's overall opening page, and the Public Information Office maintains a "what's new" page, but neither office exercises any real management oversight of the city's web site as a whole. Maintenance of departmental web pages, once created, has typically been added onto the existing, unrelated responsibilities of whatever staff member once happened to show some individual interest in the issue (or, perhaps, the one who was unluckiest on some particular day).

The results of this policy might have been predictable. On the positive side, some departments (e.g., the Library and the Police Department) have developed web pages which are extensive, informative, useful, well designed, and very creatively implemented. In their individual functional areas, these are fully equal to the best we have found anywhere among other cities' web pages.

On the negative side, some departments seem to have difficulty conceiving of much information that would be useful on a web page, or they simply lack either the will or the resources (or both) to develop a truly useful page. And it is clear that many departments are quite unable to keep updated the materials they have once started to post to their pages. (We believe it would be unfair to cite specific examples while leaving out so many others. However, we also believe it would be better if these departments had never made the promises they cannot fulfill.)

Beyond this unevenness from one department to another, an additional unfortunate consequence is that the city's overall web presence could fairly be called a shambles. Every department's page is completely different in its conception from every other. With no commonality of format or navigational structure, the total package is user-unfriendly in the extreme. A user must learn how to navigate each department's page from scratch, as if each one were a totally different web site belonging to a totally separate government. Even potentially useful links (e.g., from Neighborhood Planning to the Police Department's neighborhood crime data, or from Economic Development to current bid procurements by the Purchasing and General Services Department) are problematic in this environment. They bounce a web browser from one department's page to another without warning, and with no idea where he or she has landed in relation to where they started, or how to navigate effectively between the two departments. Thus the real value of the whole effort falls far short of its true potential, and far short in comparison with the resources already invested in it.

A related deficiency, in our task force view, is the way the city has neglected to use the Internet to provide access to services, in addition to descriptive information. While the Community Link kiosks (discussed in the section above, on Services and Transactions) at least temporarily approximate the state of the art, they appear to be treated as a substitute for the power of the Internet rather than as a supplement to that power. While the kiosks give access to city's entire web site, the web site does not support the same transactions as the kiosks. Many of even the simplest of transactions (e.g., purchasing a publication from the City Clerk's office) are not available through a web browser. One major limitation which prevents many transactions from being implemented is the city's lack of a secure server to support credit card purchases. Again, this "underdevelopment" of the city's web site appears to be due to the simple lack of will and/or resources to develop the site effectively.

A third deficiency is in the way the city uses email for communication between citizens and the city government. At present, individual departments provide email links to their staff through their web pages in a pattern which can only be called haphazard. As with the issues of web page design, formatting and navigation, the result from a citizen's perspective is a study in frustration. This greatly reduces the usefulness of this communications medium, instead of capitalizing on its real potential.

One aspect of this issue may be the way the City budgets for email to/from the outside world, through a modest monthly charge-back to the department by ISD. Arguably, this presents each department Director with the choice of funding one more email account vs. filling a few more potholes, buying a few more library books, publishing one more program information pamphlet, etc. More fundamentally, however, this issue involves the other resources associated with this form of communication: the allocation of adequate staff time to handle the potential volume of e-communications, and the development and administration of appropriate protocols to log messages, route them to an appropriate respondent, and track and record responses. This is all a burden which is easier to avoid than to confront, in a context of scarce resources.

The task force believes that the present administrative arrangements and bureaucratic incentives systematically deter city departments from making the most effective use of email for communication with citizens. We believe the solution to this problem must involve a conscious commitment as a city government - not as a collection of unrelated city departments - to use this communications technology to the best advantage of everyone.

Finally, we return to the issue of the content of the city departments' web pages. We have not attempted a detailed inventory of what San Antonio offers in comparison with other cities, because this could be extremely cumbersome and it would not serve a useful purpose at this stage. We believe it is sufficient to note that the historic policy of "Let 100 Flowers Bloom" has produced enormous variation from one department to another in the breadth, depth and quality of information available.

The variety of useful information we have found on other cities' web pages is mind boggling. Obviously, the wealth of material which could be made available in electronic form far exceeds any city's resources available for doing so. Therefore priorities must be set, and limited resources allocated accordingly.

In San Antonio's case, it appears that departments' web page offerings depend - more than anything else - on such unknowable vagaries as what information just happens to be available already in some other form, the personal interests of a staff member with a part-time assignment to maintain the department's page, etc., rather than on any rational or conscious plan at all. It appears that the city has never deliberately considered how making available additional materials in the City Clerk's office (for example) stacks up against additional materials from the Planning Department, the Metropolitan Health District or the Economic Development Department (to continue with a series of random examples), as a real priority to the city as a whole.

Therefore we conclude this section with one general and overarching observation. It is that the existing "laissez faire" management policy which has governed the city's use of telecommunications technology up to now is no longer adequate or appropriate. It may have served a useful purpose in the past, in encouraging individual departments to explore new possibilities and to demonstrate their potentials. However, as both technology and users' expectations have matured, the time for this approach has clearly passed. San Antonio desperately needs some central management of its web page presence, and a conscious commitment to develop the potential of the Internet for citizen information, access to services, and involvement in local government.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Services and Transactions

(1) The City should begin now to develop a "next generation" of the Community Link Action Plan.

This planning effort should be based on research including a citizen survey to determine (1) what additional services citizens want to access and what additional transactions they want to conduct through kiosks and the Internet, and (2) their preferred delivery system and location.

The planning effort should also study City service points and identify how the citizen/user process can be improved or made more efficient, especially electronically - so citizens/users can avoid having to be there physically, or to wait in line.

It should also include a resource survey to determine what is available and in use now, and where city offices with networked computers are located now.

Based on this research, new initiatives should be implemented first on a pilot basis to prove concepts, software and administrative support before being expanded citywide.

The original Community Link Action Plan was based on extensive citizen research and detailed analysis of city service delivery. It has guided the City in developing its networks of kiosks at major malls and shopping centers and the Community Link Service Centers. These initiatives have placed San Antonio - for the time being - in the front rank of cities using technology in this fashion to deliver citizen services.

However, that plan is now three years old and its implementation is essentially complete. There are no defined priorities for additional services to be implemented through the kiosks in FY 1999-2000. Meanwhile the Internet has experienced its most explosive growth, and a larger and larger proportion of citizens have become comfortable conducting various transactions through this medium.

(2) The City should undertake more extensive marketing efforts to communicate the availability of services through the kiosks and the Internet, and more extensive programs to educate citizens about their use.

The "Showcases of City Services" at malls and other locations have been well received, but they require elaborate mobilization and they are only a small part of the effort that is needed. Likewise, the Library's efforts to expand computer literacy and access - although well conceived and creatively executed for a public library system - are inadequate to the task, if that is all the City does. It needs to become a major priority to the city government as a whole to help make people more aware of these services, and more comfortable in using them.

(3) The City should present the same "face" to the world through its web site as it does through the kiosks. Citizens/users should be able to transact at least as much business with the City through a web browser as they can conduct at a kiosk.

Today, the Community Link kiosks provide access to the entire city web site, but the web site itself does not allow citizens to conduct as many transactions with the City as they can through the kiosks. The principal limitation is on transactions which require a payment for services through a credit card.

This asymmetry violates any principle that the City should make itself as accessible as possible electronically. City information and services should be equally available to citizens using computer terminals in libraries, community centers, schools, their own offices and bedrooms, as they are special kiosks in shopping malls. In the long run, the kiosks should be a supplement to the City's accessible presence on the web, rather than the other way around.

(4) The City should begin to develop a "data warehouse" of city government-related information, as a foundation stone for developing San Antonio into a smart community.

The Community Information System initiative and an emerging coalition of GIS users are already beginning initial steps toward this. The ultimate aim should be to make every kind of digital information (within legal limitations) available through the Internet to every citizen and business in San Antonio. If San Antonio as an urban community is truly to become a "smart city," its city government should play a leader's role rather than a follower's role in this effort.

(5) The City should develop alliances with other governments in the region to provide access to services jointly, at one-stop locations.

Bexar County and the state of Texas should be major partners in this effort, but other regional special district governments should also be involved. The Alamo Area Council of Governments could play an important role in facilitating such alliances on a metropolitan basis.

Scattered courtesy links from one agency's web site to another are not sufficient to accomplish this objective. As the local leader in using kiosks for service delivery, the City should explore the potential for expanding the scope of services accessible through the kiosks to include overlying governments through intergovernmental contracts.

Information and Citizen Involvement

(1) The City should make a strong, conscious and deliberate commitment to the following principles for making City information and services available electronically:

As much public information as possible should be accessible digitally over the Internet, except as prohibited by law.

Information should be provided electronically with attention to cross-platform and backward compatibility.

Access to city information and electronic services should be geographically accessible within a half-hour walk to everyone in the City.

Information and services provided electronically should be free or affordable.

Information and electronic services should be fully accessible to those with disabilities.

Access to electronic information must be anonymous, to protect individual privacy.

The availability of electronic information and services must be reinforced by effective marketing and communication.

Access to electronic information and services must be supported by effective training, citizen education and support.

Basic information about the city and city services should be available bilingually.

(2) The City should develop a broad range initiative on technological literacy, to ensure that the community does not become split into information "haves" and "have-nots." This initiative should include alliances for implementation with the school systems and the Alamo Community College District.

This is the most important social issue presented by the explosion of information technology. As the dominant general-purpose local government, the City must face the issue squarely and comprehensively.

Some illustrations of possible elements of this initiative might include:

Equipping City literacy centers with web access and hands-on classes for computer literacy, web page development, etc.

Developing a coordinated effort to recycle older computers and modems for those without funds to purchase new equipment.

Establishing summer workshops at city recreation centers for students to create their own web pages and maintain their own email accounts.

Instituting means for access by those without home computers, in all parts of the city and at all hours.

Developing mechanisms to spread Web TV, to enable people to get on the web and communicate by email.

Developing special initiatives for the elderly - those least likely to have been exposed to computers, and most likely to suffer for it. Equip senior citizen centers with modems, email and web access.

Alliances with other agencies should emphasize providing citizen education and access, especially in parts of the city with low rates of home PC ownership.

(3) The City urgently needs to begin to manage its overall presence on the web by developing and applying common standards to the design and implementation of its departmental web pages.

This management should focus on general standards for departmental web pages, and on ensuring a common look-and-feel for these pages as parts of a single unified web site. It should not constrain the responsible departments in determining the kinds of information which citizens may find useful, or their priorities in developing new materials and applications for their pages.

These standards should address issues such as:

Functionality on multiple platforms and with backwards compatibility.

Format and layout - particularly the design of navigation links, both within departmental pages and between departments. Users should not have to constantly relearn a unique and different format for every department.

Minimum content requirements and format standards for common generic types of materials (e.g., the agendas of boards and advisory committees supported by various departments, or calendars of programs and events sponsored by a department).

Requirements for the periodic updating of information which changes regularly, and standards for periodic review and updating of information which changes only occasionally.

Implementation of this recommendation will probably require an interdepartmental staff effort to develop the required standards in the form of some kind of "style manual." It will also require a training program for every department's designated webmaster to educate them in the standards, and monitoring and technical assistance to individual departments.

The task force believes that the essential perspective which should govern this management is that of the Community Relations Department. Therefore we recommend that the primary responsibility for this management function should be assigned to that department. Additional resources may also be necessary for a complementary role of technical support by the Information Services Department.

(4) The City should maintain at least one general e-mail address for citizen information, inquiries, and requests for service in every City department. The availability of this service should be advertised on each department's web page and through other community education programs.

Implementation of this recommendation will require the development and administration of appropriate protocols to log messages, route them to an appropriate respondent, and track and record responses. Most important, it will require adequate resources (personnel and training) for every department to meet this commitment to a consistent standard of response quality.

(5) The City should develop a coherent policy to prioritize the resources for making additional documents, directories, schedules and other basic materials available through departments' web pages.

Clearly, the volume of material which could be made available in electronic form far exceeds the City's available resources to do so. Therefore this effort should be informed by a deliberate program of research and dialogue with citizens and other organizations in the community. This should be conducted as part of the planning recommended in #1 above, under Services and Transactions.

Marketing and Economic Development

(1) The City should use its general purpose web site deliberately to project the image of a technologically advanced community.

This means that the City should commit the resources to develop and maintain its web site as a premier, state-of-the-art example of the use of the Internet by a municipal government. "State of the art" includes the clarity and ease of navigation and the aesthetics of page layout, as well as the substantive content of the site. It also means using "bells and whistles" - e.g., sound and animation - to enhance the site appropriately, while maintaining the requirements of cross-platform operability and backward compatibility. Having a city government that is seen to be at the state of this art - in the range of services and transactions that are supported electronically, and in the scope and quality of the information available to citizens - is a subtle but important support to all of the City's other economic development efforts.

(2) The City should periodically convene ad hoc working groups to develop information technology initiatives to support particular target industries. These should focus on defining the City's most effective role in using IT to advance the local industry, and on developing an appropriate division of labor between the City, private sector interests and other agencies that may be involved.

For example, in the tourism industry... The City should not duplicate or attempt to compete with the private sector in marketing their attractions through its web site or the Convention and Visitors Bureau's specialized web site. But the City must be proactive in making the best information available about facilities that are owned and operated by the City and events that are sponsored by the City - both in its own efforts and for use by others. The City should also consider how information under its control - e.g., about upcoming conventions and events - can best be made available for use by others in the industry.

For example, in the development of an Inland Port... The City should consider how its effort to develop telecommunications infrastructure (as recommended by the SATNET task force) can best support the development of a "virtual port" in cooperation with the Free Trade Alliance, the Greater Kelly Development Corporation, and GKDC's tenants at the redeveloped Kelly AFB. It should also consider how electronic links between the city government and other trade-related agencies, institutions and businesses can best be orchestrated to facilitate this effort.

For example, in the roll out of digital broadcasting... The City should consider: how it can use interactive television to extend interactive services beyond the reach of computer networks; how it can use it for City staff training, employee orientation and continuing professional development (using broadcast to deliver curriculum content and text/form return from computers as the response and evaluation mechanism); how it can support live "field trips" in which students can ask questions and access data to enhance their observations and test their conclusions; and how interactive access can be used to enhance marketing efforts in tourism, as a medical destination, and in general economic development. We believe that San Antonio has a "window of opportunity" to develop new market niches by pioneering the application of digital broadcasting to improve traditional fields.

Budget Recommendations

This task force was not charged to develop specific budget recommendations in the form required by the City's regular budget process. However, we believe the following observations and recommendations are in order, as the logical extension of our recommendations above.

(1) The City needs to budget additional funds to manage the City's overall presence on the web. The Community Relations Department is the most logical department to undertake this role, with appropriate support from the Information Services Department.

This includes the "next generation" planning, to follow-up from the Community Link Action Plan, and the development and administration of web page standards as discussed above. While some additional "hard core" General Fund budget appropriation is necessary for these purposes, some part of the cost of this management might also be recovered through overhead charges to departments funded by special revenue and enterprise funds.

(2) The City needs to commit the resources to adequately support e-mail communication between citizens and the city government. This includes adequate trained personnel to properly serve at least one general e-mail address in each department for information, complaints and service requests. It also includes the development and administration of appropriate protocols to log messages, route them to an appropriate respondent, track and record responses and outcomes.

Once again, we believe the essential perspective which should govern the implementation of this recommendation is that of the Community Relations Department, with training and technical support by ISD.

(3) The City needs to commit the resources to maintain a state of the art presence on the web, and to use information technology in partnership with other agencies to foster the city's economic development.

This includes a regular budget commitment for enhancement of the City's overall web site and for the development of additional materials to be made available through departments' web pages. It also includes support for the kinds of initiatives discussed above, involving collaboration between the City and other public and private sector entities.

(4) The City should fund a systematic "grantsmanship" effort to pursue available grant funds for information technology. This effort should emphasize partnerships and networking between the city government and other community agencies.

The volume and the variety of potential grant funds in this area has grown almost as explosively as the Internet itself. Potential sources range from the National Information Infrastructure programs and retention grants from the Department of Education (for programs of computer accessibility and training) to the state's Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund and the Texas Water Development Board (for mapping related to natural resources), to various private foundations. While some individual departments (notably the Library) have been aggressive in pursuing such opportunities, the City as a whole simply does not "have its act together" in this respect.

To be successful in this competitive grant environment, a premium must be placed on proposals which will benefit the San Antonio community in a wider sense, rather than just the municipal government as an institutional entity. Partnerships and networking are the order of the day among potential funding agencies. Therefore proposals which involve cooperation with school districts, colleges and universities, health care agencies and other entities targeted by the federal and state governments should be emphasized. Special attention should also be paid to addressing the issues of the "democratization of information," and preventing a possible split in the community between information "haves" and "have-nots."

(5) The City should substantially increase the resources devoted to staff training in support of information technology efforts.

The shortage of trained staff in functional line departments is perhaps the most fundamental obstacle to the City's making full use of the technology which is available now. While ISD has impressive facilities and offers a good range of training programs, more resources need to be allocated to free-up the time of targeted staff to take advantage of the training which is available to them.

Next Steps

This task force was charged to make recommendations on how the city government should use information technology in services and transactions with citizens, in delivering information and involving citizens in local government, and in marketing the city to support its economic development. Our recommendations above address all of these issues. However, the task force also believes that the following recommendations are appropriate, to outline some "next steps," or the tasks that remain ahead of us.

(1) Beyond a project internal to the city government, a deliberate and collaborative community-wide effort is needed to transform San Antonio as a community into a truly "Smart City." This must involve the business community, educational systems and nonprofit sectors, alongside the City and other local governments.

The city government has an essential role to play in this effort, by using information technology to the best possible advantage in its own service delivery and interactions with citizens. A "smart city" has a smart city government - and one that is seen to be that by the rest of the world. It also has the infrastructure to support telecommunications and networking between and among the city government and the community's schools, universities, hospitals, research institutions and libraries. But, most importantly, a truly Smart City uses these tools to develop new opportunities and to form new collaborations which benefit the entire community.

(2) The Mayor and City Council need to become strong and consistent advocates of this cause.

No one else is in a position of leadership to marshal the entire community in what must become a community-wide effort. Beyond their essential support for recommendations involving the city government (e.g., budget priorities for personnel and training), they must take the lead in marketing and recruiting to broaden this effort into a community-wide undertaking.

(3) The City Council should appoint a "next generation" task force as an official city body charged to follow-up from both this effort and the SATNET task force, and to make San Antonio into a Smart City within five years.

This task force should develop a "Technology Implementation Roadmap," encompassing such initiatives as the Community Information System and the emerging GIS users' consortium, as well as the City's own "next generation" Community Link Action Plan. It should also develop funding strategies and pilot projects to demonstrate implementation.

To be successful, this task force must be both broad-based and high level. It must include decision makers from the private sector, nonprofit institutions and other public sector agencies, as well as leaders from local "user communities." It also must be supported by adequate resources, contributed by both the public and private sectors.

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