8.24.04
Confusion reigned supreme this week, dear reader…Wardy was confused about his budget, I was confused because of certain natural occurrences, and everyone was looking for someone to blame.
Public Health Crisis
The first public item of note was placed on the agenda by the Chair of the City County Health District Board:
3. Discussion and action on the current status and future of the City-County Health Board. [Dr. John Tune]
If you recall, in an effort to cut costs wherever possible, the County abruptly decided to abandon the inter-local agreement with the City that created the City-County Health Unit. Dr. Tune, Chair of that board, was at the meeting that morning to ask the mayor and Council to help them work with the County to renew the funding, but more importantly, to reverse Wardy’s decision to dissolve the independent board at the end of the year.
Wardy stopped Dr. Tune and, referring to the dismantling of the board said, “There’s no finality to that, but we do not believe today that the board can function as it has with the district.” Tune, who was under the impression that Wardy’s decision was final, referred to a letter the mayor sent him declaring his intention to dissolve the board.
Tune went on to give a very impressive list of the programs they’ve created, the state and national recognition they’ve received, and the healthcare they’ve provided, which is especially important in a community like El Paso where most citizens have limited access to healthcare and few folks have private pay insurance.
Tune argued that “the defunding by the County and the threat of dissolution of the board [by the mayor] has caused chaos in the community” and, as proof, he stated that the EPA and other agencies that provide the district with matching fund grants had called about the proposed dissolution. He then asked that Council conduct hearings so the public could give input on the County’s decision to withdraw.
“The community, I would hope, would stand up,” said Dr. Guy Johnson, a veterinarian on the board who also spoke to Council. Instead of saying, “Yes, we’re with you, we’ll help you fight the good fight, we’ll attend meetings supporting you,” Council instead said the de-funding was out of their control.
What, me worry? Or TUNE-ing Out
Lozano, who didn’t seem to relate drastic budget cuts to inevitable cuts in services, told the concerned folks that everything would be okay. “I believe we’re not gonna do away with any services,” he announced. So, Alexandro Lozano wins the Alfred E. Newman award for this week for being clueless but happy-go-lucky in the face of a crisis. Congratulations, Al!
Dr. Tune had to remind Lozano that the county is cutting $2.5 million and Wardy also reminded Lozano that the City cannot make up the money.
Teresa Caballero spoke out against the board, calling everything they said “eloquent spin.” She accused Dr. Jorge Magana (Director of the District) of having “an agenda.” What that “agenda” is was not clear, and seemingly speaking on behalf of the County, said they had “had enough...we’ve [the County] asked questions we’re not getting from Dr. Magana.”
Lozano told Caballero he agreed with most of what she said, with one exception: “I know Betti Flores very personally,” said Lozano, and despite their relationship, he said he was shocked by the pull-out. (I’ll let readers decide what it means to know someone “very personally.” Given the individuals involved, I don’t even want to contemplate it myself.)
Council took no action on this item.
Folks, although I don’t cover County issues, I’m going to recommend we all pick up our phones or send an email to the County Judge and County Commissioners about their cuts to the City County Health District. Remember that saying, “Penny wise and pound foolish”? Well, it couldn’t be more accurate than in this case. The District is vital to the public health of El Paso and it’s also the district that monitors environmental polluters (think about a certain quarry). Although I admit to being a card-carrying conspiracy theorist, I don’t want to believe the chatter I’m hearing about how these cuts will help those certain polluters. Regardless of whom it helps, I know these cuts will hurt the community.
The C Word
If there’s one word that Wardy has been most associated with in the last several months, it’s cronyism. Apparently, other folks have begun associating that word with Wardy’s administration as well.
4. Cronyism in the City Hall. [Anita Blair]
This item was placed on the public portion of the agenda by Anita Blair who, true to form, also talked about various issues completely un-related to her agenda item.
When she did get around to the cronyism topic, she said last week’s Council vote to turn over nearly all open lawsuits to Carl Green’s shop left her “flabbergasted.” I bet if the public were to get a glimpse of the invoices Green has been submitting to the City, taxpayers would also be flabbergasted.
Then, referring to the controversy surrounding Wardy’s soon-to-be-unnecessarily bloated staff, she said, “You gave the new City Manager a secretary, and the mayor has seven employees on his staff? Well, what’s going on?” Good question, Anita.
Coming back to the City Attorney controversy, she asked, “Why would people be resigning en masse from the City Attorney’s office?” and she referred to “very dedicated people,” who “all of a sudden, they walk away.”
She issued a warning and said, “I wanna tell you something, if August 17th had anything to do with your future, this City’s in a real big mess. You don’t privatize the City Attorney’s office...up until now we had a City Attorney’s office that was very capable.” Right. The key words are “up until now” (14 months ago to be exact).
She chastised them for the blank check they gave to Lisa Elizondo, saying “You should have asked questions, you should have found out what was going on...do you know it’s very possible that all of you committed political suicide last week?”
Her discussion then turned to other fascinating topics like her voting record, her public service, the history of the U.S. republic and our democracy, and about whether or not Abraham Lincoln was a republican/Republican. Not that it matters one whit, but I’m not sure if she was wondering if Lincoln was a member of the Republican party (which, of course, he was) or whether he believed in the republican form of government (how we answer this question probably depends on whether we live in the northern or southern latitudes of the U.S.).
Getting back on the subject (finally), she closed by imploring, “Please don’t give a blank check to anybody about anything...don’t let people be vindictive and do your hiring and firing through your budget…it’ll get you defeated in the next election.”
Let’s hope so. And the vindictive comment is all about item 9 (discussed later in the column).
Wardy said, “Thank you for being with us today” and that was it.
Well, I’m glad we had that little discussion, aren’t you? Now all the cronyism in the Wardy administration has been exorcised and we can go on with our lives.
Approving of the Minutes...Finally!
After having postponed the 7/20/04 minutes for three weeks, Vivian Rojas finally stopped holding them hostage and allowed them to be approved:
5. Approval of Minutes for the Regular City Council Meetings of July 20 and August 17, 2004; and Special City Council Meeting of August 9, 2004.
(Attachment) - Regular City Council Meeting Minutes - 07/20/04
(Attachment) - Special City Council Meeting Minutes - 08/09/04
(Attachment) - Regular City Council Meeting Minutes - 08/17/04
Way to go, Viv!
Renewing Chamber Funding
Despite Wardy’s initial veto, it looks like Council won the war to fund the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, an entity that helps small and minority owned businesses in El Paso:
7G. That the Mayor be authorized to sign an Economic Development Agreement with the El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce for $140,000 for Fiscal Year 2003-2004, for Economic Development assistance in the City of El Paso. This resolution is subject to the appropriate budget and documentation being submitted to the City's Deputy CAO-Financial Services. (All Districts) (Attachment) [Economic Development, David Dobson, (915) 533-4284]
Beefing Up the Staff, Year 2
The Mayor and Council, after shipping out most of the 10th-floor civil service secretaries when first coming into office last year, are renewing some of those contracts with their hand-picked assistants:
7P. That the Mayor be authorized to sign a Contract between the CITY OF EL PASO and ROSA ISELA MORALES, to assist the Mayor & City Council as a Staff Assistant at a biweekly rate of $1,193.60 for 40 hours per week. The term of the contract shall be for the period of August 29, 2004 through June 14, 2005. Contract subject to the concurrence of the Civil Service Commission. (Attachment) [Mayor & Council, Jim Martinez, (915) 541-4015]
Don’t forget, folks, these hand-picked “assistants” are out-earning veteran City staff members and have perks that are off-limits to civil servants at City Hall. Don’t forget also that several Wardy allies criticized the existence of tenth-floor contract employees during the last mayoral campaign. Where have those critics been all these months?
It’s Payback Time
Postponed for one week was the following item:
9. STAFFING TABLE CHANGES:
Mayor & Council
Delete 1.00 - Administrative Assistant GS 23
[Mayor & Council, Jim Martinez, (915) 541-4015]
This is the item that Anita Blair was referring to when she warned Council not to be “vindictive.” What’s frightening and outrageous about item number 9 is that this change that’s being made could be considered retaliation.
Remember the email exchange between Jim Martinez’s secretary Blanca Gonzalez and a 10th-floor secretary who was challenging Gonzalez’s perks? Well, that 10th-floor secretary was a hard-working City veteran in the District 5 office. When I published the copy of the angry exchange between the two women, I wondered on paper what would happen to this brave City Hall veteran who had had the courage to speak out against the special treatment the Wardy-ites had received.
Well, guess what? Suddenly, her position, according to the same Wardy-ites, has been deemed unnecessary and will be deleted. During Monday’s budget hearing, when Terry Bond (Director of Human Resources) was asked whether or not there would be another position for this woman to go to, the answer was a reluctant no. In other words, this woman is being “laid off” immediately after speaking out.
That’s life in Wardyland. If you have the courage to speak out against unfair or unethical behavior, expect retaliation.
This brave City Hall veteran isn’t taking this lying down. She placed an item on the Civil Service Commission (CSC) meeting:
21. Discussion and Action on my employment status as a result of an involuntary transfer from District 5 Office to Purchasing Dept., which has been imposed upon me. I have been placed in an Accounting Technician position, for which I am not qualified nor does it meet my background experience, submitted by Terry Villanueva. (http://www.elpasotexas.gov/personnel/agenda.asp)
I hope the CSC helps this woman fight for her job. If not, we may just have another lawsuit on our hands, folks, and another hard-working woman out of a job, thanks to Joe Wardy and his highly paid staff.
Musical Bids
Interim CAO Jim Martinez asked that the following item be postponed for two weeks:
15. BEST VALUE PROCUREMENT:
This contract shall be awarded to the bidder who provides the
best value to the City. The City may consider price and other
relevant criteria listed in the request for bids.
Bid No.: 2004-226 Washing of Heavy Duty Equipment (Rebid)
Award to: A & E Truck & Car Wash
El Paso, TX
Item (s): All
Amount: $150,000.00 (estimated yearly)
Department: Fleet Services
Funds available: 37370510-45202-503125
Funding source: Fleet Services-Inventory Sales- Equipment Outside Repairs
Total award: $450,000.00 (estimated)
District (s): All
The Fleet Services Department and Purchasing Departments
recommend award as indicated, on the basis of Best Value
Procurement.
This is a thirty-six (36) month contract with the option to
extend the term of the contract one additional year.
[Purchasing, Ray Heredia, (915) 541-4316]
If you used to read my notes while NPT was still in operation, you may recall that there was some controversy about this bid earlier this summer. David Escobar (big Wardy supporter, Wardy’s appointee to the Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, and frequent collaborator with Luther Jones) spoke before Council at the time the bid was originally going to be awarded; he was representing one of the bidders, who happened to be related to both him and City Representative Paul Escobar. Well, the item was sent out to rebid, and based on the backup, it looks like the Escobar clan member did not win the bid this time around.
I wonder if that has anything to do with Martinez’s postponement. If the Escobar clan member eventually gets the contract, I think particular scrutiny should be brought to bear on how and why.
Where Confusion Reigns Supreme
As you know, dear reader, all taxing entities must finalize their budgets and pass them before the beginning of their fiscal year. The City’s fiscal year begins on September 1st, so City Council began the process this summer. Wardy presented his budget and Council held very time-consuming hearings.
At this week’s Council meeting, Council was scheduled to approve the fiscal year 2005 budget the Mayor proposed. What should be a routine event – approving of the budget – became a complicated, confusing, and poorly planned exercise in futility.
22A. Public Hearing on the Proposed Budget for the City of El Paso for the Fiscal Year 2004-2005. (Attachment) [Financial and Administrative Services, William A. Chapman, and Office of Management and Budget, David Almonte, (915) 541-4011]
22B. Discussion and action on a Resolution that the Proposed Budget for the City of El Paso, filed by the Mayor with the City Clerk on July 1, 2004, is hereby approved and adopted by the City Council, as amended, as the Annual Budget for the Fiscal Year 2004-2005 for the City of El Paso. (Attachment) [Financial and Administrative Services, William A. Chapman, and Office of Management and Budget, David Almonte, (915) 541-4011]
In case you haven’t read the paper in the last week, you’ve missed the fact that because of the increased valuations on properties this past spring, the amount of money collected by the City has increased dramatically. As a result of the magnitude of the increase, the City is legally required to declare there is a tax increase and hold a public hearing specifically on that increase (http://www.elpasotimes.com/stories/borderland/20040823-159427.shtml). This minor detail apparently caught our finance department, City Attorney and the Mayor off guard.
Word at City Hall is that part of how this mess got so out of control is because Elizondo instructed her Assistant City Attorneys not to attend budget hearings. Dear reader, this is unheard of. Not only did prior City Attorneys sit in on every budget meeting ever held in the past, but they actively participated in helping Council navigate the sometimes confusing legal waters that relate to the City’s finances. So, unlike other City Attorneys, Ms. Elizondo orders her staff to stay away and decides not to bother attending them in her official capacity either. And because there were no lawyers around, there was no one around to catch the legal issues related to Wardy’s budget. Not that I think Ms. Elizondo herself would have caught these issues, but some of her assistants (those whom she hasn’t fired or driven out, that is) might have been able to.
Even the editorial board at the Times, the same group that endorsed Wardy for Mayor, calls the confusion surrounding Wardy’s budget “shocking” (http://www.borderlandnews.com/stories/opinion/ourviews/20040826-160617.shtml). I guess the honeymoon’s finally over.
A Taxing Discussion
Early in the meeting John Cook informed Council that he intended to postpone items 22A and B because there remain unanswered questions.
Folks, if a City Council member still has unanswered questions about the Mayor’s budget a week before the fiscal year is set to begin, we have a problem. The Mayor and his staff should ensure that all City Council representatives are fully briefed, have no more questions and are ready to vote.
But it’s no wonder that Representative Cook had unanswered questions. According to the El Paso Times, the City’s numbers don’t add up. The Mayor insists that there is no tax increase, yet the Times discovered that, in fact, it ain’t only a tax increase, my friends, but the increased taxes combined with a need for more money to service the Quality of Life bond debt means that it’s a 16.5% tax increase we’re looking at. Where’s Jaime O. Perez? At least the previous mayor was honest about raising taxes. We now have a mayor who is either: 1) dishonest about the fact that he’s raising taxes; or 2) too dim to understand that he’s raising taxes. Either prospect is unacceptable and should have all taxpayers deeply concerned.
A few members of the public spoke, but none articulated the core problem: the fact that Wardy doesn’t have a handle on his own budget. Wardy didn’t have a clue about the numbers or how we got there. (He sounded a lot like Lisa Elizondo frequently does. Birds of a feather . . . .)
Tautologies, Lies and Red Tape or Beware the Hounds of Hell
Theresa Caballero, a frequent Council critic, spoke and stated, “I’m very disturbed about this budget and the burden it will place on me as a taxpayer...it’s disgraceful.” She made specific reference to the new taxes required by the City’s 2000 Quality of Life bond obligation (http://www.borderlandnews.com/stories/borderland/20040824-159728.shtml), and said Bill Chapman told the community back in 1999 that this bond issuance would not mean a tax increase.
Wardy corrected her and said, “I remember as a voter on the 2000 Quality of Life bond issue...it was stated that it would raise the debt service.” I think he’s right about the debt service issue, but his claim that he was a voter in that bond election is simply untrue. Wardy explained away his abysmal voting record during the mayoral campaign by saying he was “too busy” to vote in that and most other elections. So it’s ironic (to say nothing of disingenuous) for him to correct Ms. Caballero on this point and refer to himself as “a voter.”
Wardy said the issue was “The increased amount that is proposed to come to the City because of the increased appraisals” and, as if trying to place the blame on someone (other than himself), said, “The paper jumped the gun on this a little bit.”
Uh, no, Mr. Wardy, actually and thankfully, the paper caught it in the nick of time (http://www.borderlandnews.com/stories/borderland/20040825-160140.shtml). You were just caught with your pants down, honorable mayor. Not a fun position to be in, I’m sure.
Caballero continued and said, “I’m a simple woman and I’m very poor at mathematics—I failed it in college—but what I do understand is when things make sense to me.” Referring to the bond elections, she said that El Pasoans would learn a very hard lesson: “there’s no such thing as a free lunch.”
“Record money is being brought in by the increased valuations in property,” she asserted, and then claimed (improbably and, I might add, tautologically), “My property values went up over $100,000...The problem here is there’s a problem.”
She continued with this accusation. “I guaran-damn-tee you, there are illegalities going on here...this is not acceptable...I beg you to protect us…We’re gonna be paying a lot more money, and we don’t know why and you don’t know why.”
She asked that an out of town CPA be brought in to conduct an audit of the City’s finances. She then issued a very stern warning: “If you don’t protect us, you’re gonna unleash the hounds of hell...and the hounds of hell are people like me.” Something tells me she’s right. I sure hope I’m not turned back at the pearly gates.
Wardy invited her to attend a final budget hearing to be held in Council Chambers on Saturday the 28th at 9:30 a.m. I’d like to encourage all of you to get to that meeting on Saturday; it’s very easy to criticize, but it’s not as easy to participate in the process with useful suggestions.
Bill Arballo (I don’t know whom he was representing because he didn’t state his organization) complained that “It appears that it is easy for us to go to the taxpayer and say we need additional revenue because we have additional costs,” and then go to the employee and talk about layoffs. He said Council never addresses the issue of the vendor. Council never goes to the vendor to say “we need a lower cost.” Wardy reminded him that it was not legal to do that.
A sullen Anthony Cobos, who has declared many times that he’s unwilling to increase taxes (but naturally didn’t fight the $700,000 increase to the Mayor and Council’s budgets), moved to postpone items 22A and 22B, which would be discussed at Saturday’s meeting in preparation for acceptance of the tax rate and the budget adoption next Tuesday. I wonder how many employees’ jobs could be saved if Mr. Cobos and the rest of Council members who need contract assistants decided to forego that $700,000? Maybe a member of the public can suggest that on Saturday or Tuesday!
Blame Game Time!
Wardy asked Council to allow Bill Chapman, the City’s CFO, to give his presentation before the vote.
Council then allowed Bill Chapman to explain their budget to them. I have to say, his explanation was as confusing as Anita Blair’s rant.
He said that “the tax rate (M&O) is remaining the same: .5421, the same as the last two years, the tax rate is not increasing...but because of the valuations...the valuations went up 8.62%.” He went on to say that “If your dollars that you’re going to receive exceed 3% over the effective tax rate calculation, you have to have a public hearing.” Yes, thanks to the Times, I think we know that now.
Wardy, who should have had a handle on his budget – at least by this point -- added, “That’s what’s caused this entire exercise.” Oh, okay, now it’s the El Paso Central Appraisal District’s fault! Okay, got it. Everyone else is always to blame; never me, the head guy.
But if that’s the case, I wanted to ask Mr. Wardy why he didn’t just address this glitch in his budget back in the spring when the new valuations were announced. Heck, even Wardy protested the increased valuation of his home – back in April (http://www.elpasoinc.com/Archive/04_04_07/CoverStory.html), so this is certainly not an issue that popped up overnight.
I still couldn’t stop wondering how the City (including the mayor and his staff) were caught off guard by this announcement in the paper on the Monday morning before the vote on the budget.
Cushing, wondering the same thing, asked Mr. Chapman, “When did you, as our CFO, become aware of the fact that we were going to trigger the state requirement to have a public hearing?”
“After we received the certified values,” responded Chapman. Well, that’s fine, I wondered, but when would that have been, Mr. Chapman?
“Did you at any time notify Council?” asked Cushing, warning Chapman that “I don’t want to get into semantical gymnastics.” Coming from such an eminent and opinionated literary theorist, this last statement surprised me.
On the other hand, for the first time, I actually supported Cushing’s grilling of a staff member. Chapman is in charge of keeping the mayor and his staff and Council aware of all matters relating to the City’s finances. The fact that his department either didn’t inform or make clear to Council the implications of increased tax receipts is unacceptable.
In his defense, and shifting the burden back onto the Mayor and Council, Chapman argued that he had indeed provided Council with the information. “In the budget overview, I went through the procedures of what would happen...it’s a standard that we have to have...you have to have a public hearing to adopt the tax rate...In the public wrap up, I actually gave you the computations of ‘this is the debt service rate,’” said Chapman.
“Have a power point presentation on Saturday to break it down,” said Wardy. “I don’t think anybody, including myself, was prepared for that number...fundamentally, I think Council has a strategic decision to make about rolling back the tax rate...because 16.5% is unconscionable...it will require some drastic action on the part of this Council.”
Drastic indeed! Once again, I wonder if Council will roll back its own $700,000 gift to itself. What do you think, dear reader? I strongly suspect this will mean more cuts in an already very lean budget and that means our services will be reduced even further.
Susan Austin asked Chapman, “What would our M&O rate have to be not to trigger the increase?”
Chapman said, “Less than 3% of the M&O’s portion.”
Austin asked, “Can you be prepared to tell us what that number translates to a dollar amount?” Chapman said yes.
Joe Wardy, Master of the Light, Comedic Touch
Frank Delgado, a City employee and president of the City Employees Association, spoke on behalf of the employees. He said,
Let me start first by saying that I’m totally baffled by what’s happened...I never worked for an organization where this has happened...I asked for a copy of the budget and since it was not available for review, I had to put in a FOIA [open records] request. I asked for a compact disc copy; the response I got back was ‘it won’t fit on one compact disc’ and the price will be this much. I got a call from one of the secretaries from the City Attorney’s office and she informed me that me, as a taxpayer, they would scan those hardcopy pages back and turn them back into an electronic document and charge me for the labor for this. I pointed out that this document was not created by pen and paper, but was created on a computer.”
Wardy interrupted Delgado, chuckled and asked, “Are you sure?” Delgado didn’t find Wardy’s statement at all amusing and informed Wardy that a previous mayor had instructed all departments to submit their budgets electronically and, to his knowledge, the City was still doing that. Wardy then said, “Just trying to lighten things up.”
Gotta love it. Wardy sure knows when to joke around! I mean, really, why is everyone so serious about a budget that will mean reduced services and employee layoffs? It’s just money!
Delgado continued:
It [the fees] was ludicrous; I stand here before you without a copy of the budget. We previously had heard, oh, there was a miscalculation of revenues, and we’re gonna have to layoff employees, then we came up with an extra $4 million, but we’re gonna bank that...we were told by Adrian Ocegueda that this was not a done deal...at a Civil Service Commission meeting he started with insulting the CSC and ended with a little temper tantrum, stating that these employees were not going to be laid off.
At that time, an irritated Wardy interrupted Delgado and, in defense of his executive assistant, said, “Let’s not beat this to death, okay? It [the layoffs] was a proposal that was given to Council to achieve what we need in the budget. That’s old history; there has not been one person laid off at this time, nor will there be until this body votes on the budget...I have corrected you a number of times, we apologized to people who were notified improperly.” Uh, Mr. Wardy, are you forgetting about the fact that you all just tried laying off the District 5 Secretary?
Once Delgado was allowed to continue, he said, “Since you brought it up, those who do not review their history are condemned to repeat it, but to move on, there are other issues...I personally do agree, I believe we are overstaffed in other areas...they’re contract employees who are being overpaid.”
Delgado continued, telling Council that even after the layoffs were announced, high-paying contracts are still being approved and further accused the administration of giving those contract employees raises. He cited that layoffs will mean “poorer service...while the administrators get fatter. That’s unconscionable.” He said there are currently five layers of management in the City; “you’re talking about [saving] $1.2 million for over 100 positions.” He advocated getting rid of the Deputy CAO positions and allowing the City Manager to take over their responsibilities as well.
Delgado, who applied for the job, then claimed that he—singlehandedly--could take over the City and be a good City Manager, without the help of the Deputy CAOs. “Give me six months,” he pleaded.
When Delgado’s legitimate criticisms of the budget strangely morphed into lobbying for the city manager’s job, the conversation completely deteriorated. It was totally inappropriate and made him completely lose credibility. At that moment, he stopped representing the employees and began representing his own interests.
“That’s pretty naïve and an arrogant statement to this body,” replied Wardy.
“Start terminating some contracts...if you wanna save some money, that’s where you can save the money,” he concluded.
Preparedness Factor: Zero
Jim Martinez, another unsuccessful applicant for the city manager job, piped in and said that “As someone who no longer has any personal interest or personal stake in the operations of the City, and someone who’s done it for 13 months… em, I don’t think it’s possible for one person to manage a…$550 million combined budget.” (Hey, your boss and a majority of voters wanted the city manager system form of government; now we all have to live with it.)
I must interject something else here, dear reader. There are two ways to interpret Martinez’s odd statement (again with apologies to my good friend Bob Cushing): 1) after failing to be appointed City Manager, Martinez doesn’t care what happens to the city; or 2) Martinez is dissembling, because he very much retains a stake in the operations of the City, in fact, in a particular department of the City. As I mentioned in previous columns, Lisa Elizondo is planning on appointing Martinez to a “Chief Litigator” position that will pay between $165,000-185,000. Either way, sore loser or dissembling bureaucratic fat cat wannabe, Martinez’s statement is problematic, to say the least.
Cobos added that, “I was looking forward to an honest, realistic discussion and I was really looking forward to what Mr. Delgado had to say. However, when he commented ‘give him six months’ it discredited his position…and it’s a ridiculous statement.”
Cobos was absolutely right. Oh God. Give me a moment, dear reader. Having to say that caused me to double over. . . . It’s okay; I’m all right.
Cobos, like Cushing, is a lawyer in his own mind, and he then went into his “watch my blistering cross-examination” mode, and attempted to elicit some additional facts from Delgado. He stated, “He made a statement that we are hiring contract positions that do the same job as CSC positions, and we pay more, and I’m wondering if he can give us specific examples, because it’s very easy to make those statements.”
Delgado said the only ones he could think of “off hand” are the grant writers in the grants department (and added that he thinks, “they’re doing a great job”).
Unfortunately, Delgado neglected to mention Council’s “administrative assistants.” In case you don’t recall, when the new Council members came into office, they ran off their civil service secretaries and hired expensive outside staff and called them “assistants.” In fact, there was an item on this very agenda that Council approved on the consent agenda that was an example of this: see item 7P. He also could have mentioned the fact that Jim Martinez’s secretary gets to work part-time but gets paid for full-time work (documented in a previous week’s notes and a well-known fact at City Hall). There are so many of these violations, he could have had a field day.
Cobos tried to further discredit Delgado by pointing out that the City Employees’ Association never even took a vote to endorse speaking out against the budget. He further tried to diminish the City Employees’ Association by saying, “Your association represents 8% of the employees.”
I was very disappointed that Delgado was not prepared to back up his statements before making them to Council and further, that he used this as an opportunity to try to wrangle for the City Manager job one last time. His inability to answer Cobos’s questions discredited his very valid arguments, let Council off the hook, spoiled a perfect opportunity to publicly challenge Council’s deep unfairness, and confirmed Cobos’s delusions that he’s Perry Mason.
Delgado was then unceremoniously dismissed.
Civil Service Rubber Stamper…er…Commissioner
Lance Ruck, Chair of the Civil Service Commission, defended his rubber stamps—er—votes in support of the contracts mentioned by Delgado. He admitted on the record that “We don’t really know if the most qualified are getting the job or if there are processes. The only question I’ve been able to ask when department heads show up to support the selection of this person is ‘did you interview all of the people’ and when I hear ‘yes’ then I approve it.”
Good job Lance! Now if that ain’t the definition of rubber stamp, I don’t know what is!
Just to remind you folks, I’ve written about this individual in my columns before.
From 11.25.2003:
“Mr. Lance Ruck…made quite a ruckus last year over the hiring of Alan Landry, the City's former Economic Development Director, and…has been silent on all of Wardy's appointments that circumvent Civil Service rules and the Charter.” (http://www.newspapertree.com/newsletter.ssd?section=feature&c=3080232d5158499c see “What, No Ruckus?)
From 12.02.2003:
If you recall last week, Lance Ruck, a Civil Service Commissioner who fancies himself a premier Civil Service watchdog, spoke before Council. Robert Cushing asked that his item be moved up so as not to inconvenience Mr. Ruck while dozens of neighborhood folks waited three and a half hours for their own item to come up on the agenda…You should also know, dear reader, that Mr. Ruck's concern for adherence to Civil Service rules is intermittent at best. Mr. Ruck has had innumerable opportunities to truly be that Civil Service watchdog with the current administration and he has chosen not to. Why? Simply because he is an ally of Joe Wardy and a good friend of Robert Cushing.
Most folks have not forgotten that many of the tenth floor civil service secretaries were unjustly ousted -- professional women who had ably served several administrations -- and in their place, this Mayor and Council hired contract employees with no municipal experience at significantly higher salaries than those earned by long-time city veterans. (http://www.newspapertree.com/newsletter.ssd?section=feature&c=339092ce1c82496d see “Silence from the Lambs?”)
I know, I know…I’m sure some of you think I’m too hard on the poor shnook. However, I just can’t help being irritated when he and other Civil Service Commissioners neglect to challenge Wardy’s cronyism. After all, it’s running rampant on the 10th floor, and it’s their job to stamp it out. The fact that we’re 14 months into Wardy’s term and he’s still getting away with murder is beyond me.
Back to the budget items…a subject we left for dead so long ago. The items were postponed for one week. Again, I’d like to advise as many folks out there as possible to get to that Saturday meeting to find out what their mayor is doing with our money.
Entr’acte: The Problem is White Guys and Careless Ducks
It was noon at this point, and City Council decided to take a recess. It was more like recess at school with all the interesting conversations taking place. (And by the way, I must warn those of you readers with fragile ears…there’s one piece of profanity in here, but it ain’t mine.)
On one side of the Chamber was David Crowder, the reporter who has recently outed Wardy and his “hush money” (the taxpayer funded pot of gold that helps Wardy silence critics and former employees: http://www.borderlandnews.com/stories/borderland/20040822-159078.shtml). He had a very animated conversation with Wardy, but unlike Jim Martinez, I wasn’t skulking in the shadows eavesdropping, so I can’t tell you what they were talking about.
When Crowder then walked over to talk to Susan Austin, Jim Martinez skulked over and sat down within earshot again. That guy is about as subtle and stealthy as...well...Wardy’s tax increase!
Cobos was chatting with Lozano and Cushing, and the microphones were on. As you can imagine, I was beside myself with delight.
Cobos excitedly declared, “This might be our man!” He was pointing out someone in the audience. (Could it have been Tom Brown, Word of God Pastor and potential candidate for Dan Power’s old position? Or was it the silent lamb, himself, Lance Ruck?) Cobos was saying, “Look at him.” He turned and asked Cushing, “Do you have anyone else lined up? Did Shari come through?”
Cushing responded, “We’re workin’ on somebody else.”
Cobos said, “We need to do something fuckin’ fast.”
Cushing insisted, “We’re workin’ on somebody who…”
Cobos interrupted, “Where? When? Who? This guy might be our man…he’s gonna be running...”
Then Lozano said, “Another white guy? That’s the problem.”
Right. That’s the problem, Mr. Lozano. It’s not the cronyism, not the incompetence, not the poor representation and not the rubber stamping. It’s that the guy who might run for office is Anglo.
So whose Council seat were they plotting about, dear reader? Was it Dan Power’s? John Cook’s? Or could it be the seat that now belongs to Cobos – who, rumor has it, intends to run for County Judge the next time around?
Cushing changed the subject and could be heard saying “All I can tell you is we have the votes to do what Teresa Caballero said and have an internal audit…even if it costs $100,000.” [What’s a mere $100 k among friends? Do you get the impression that they actually think it’s their money?] Cobos responded, “Let’s do it.” Suddenly horrified that his comments may have been picked up and broadcast by the microphones, he thumped one and asked, “Are these off?” No, Mr. Cobos, they were not.
As the other representatives and the mayor walked in, the subject then turned to taking over the County’s parks and Paul Escobar, referring to Ascarate Park, could be overheard telling Wardy, “You know their ducks were dying of herpes?”
Great. Now we’ll need an SOB ordinance for the animals over at Ascarate Lake! And with cuts to the City-County Health District, these poor ducks won’t even be able to get their STD check-ups at the local clinic. Oh, my!
The Art of the “Outreached”
Wardy introduced the item and the fact that the City is facing a shortfall in one of the 2000 Quality of Life Bond projects.
He said, “The issue remains on the History Museum…We have $6 million in which to build a $9 million museum,” and added, “fundamentally, we ended up with a, close to a $2 million shortfall.” I guess Wardy’s math skills are on a par with Theresa Caballero’s. I believe that means there is a $3 million shortfall. No wonder Wardy’s budget doesn’t add up. If this guy can’t do simple subtractions, how can we expect him to create a multi-million dollar budget?
19A. Discussion and action on a Resolution that the Mayor be authorized to sign the Amendment to Tax Increment Finance District No. 1 Termination Agreement by and between the City of El Paso, the County of El Paso, the El Paso Independent School District, the El Paso County Hospital District and the El Paso County Community College District allowing the City of El Paso to utilize the remaining fund balance in the TIF No. 1 fund in connection with the History Museum to be constructed by the City of El Paso as part of the Cleveland Square Project. (Attachment) [Mayor & Council, Adrian Ocegueda, (915) 541-4145]
Cobos, in his usual fashion, couldn’t ask for a postponement (in order to get the Hospital District to participate) without first giving Wardy as many accolades as possible. He asked for a postponement and told the mayor that “I really appreciate the way you have outreached to the other taxing entities; I think this City government more so than any other has made that a key.” (I guess the Wardy sycophants take turns kissing Wardy’s backside. Last week it was Cushing doing the honors.)
Mike Brietinger came to the podium and stated that the Central Business Association (one of the taxing entities) just found out about this item last week and, in fact, in order to get all the information they needed, he had to submit an open records request.
Right. So much for the fact that Wardy has “outreached” to all the entities.
He asked that Council postpone the item until his board had an opportunity to review the proposal and vote on it.
The item was postponed.
Water Boy
It could only have been Robert (lawyer-in-his-own-mind) Cushing who could have written the following item:
19B. Discussion and action on establishing a private/public sector ad hoc committee to investigate and define geologically occurring contours on and around the Franklin Mountains that could serve as water conveyance and/or runoff channels, with a direction to define these natural occurrences and what effects, if any, could be associated with residential/commercial development proximate to same. To further investigate Southwestern cities that have similar natural occurrences, and review any and all ordinances/statutes that may have been developed at a municipal and/or county/state/federal level to address these issues, and work with the office of the City Attorney to return to Council with an appropriate ordinance within sixty (60) days. [Mayor Pro Temp Anthony W. Cobos, (915) 541-4123 and Representative Robert A. Cushing, Jr., (915) 541- 4996]
Poor Richarda Momsen, who had to read this item into the record! The item, like its author, is so long-winded that she needed an oxygen tank to get through reading it. Maybe the mayor can add oxygen tanks to the budget at the Saturday meeting.
Cushing announced that “I put this on because I think as from discussions we’ve had over the past several months, there have been references made to these natural occurrences and I don’t think they show up in the plan for this year or the for next year or what have you...we should be able to come up with something to come up with a definition and a way to handle these issues...it’d be a great idea for us to do this...Mayor Cobos and I discussed this.” I think he meant Mayor Pro Tem Cobos. I’m sure Cobos was pleased by his promotion.
Just what “natural occurrences” Cushing was referring to, I couldn’t tell. Was it the natural occurrence of me falling asleep as soon as he began to talk? Was it the natural occurrence of Wardy’s nervous Cheshire cat smile as soon as issues get sticky? Was it the natural occurrence of Wardy’s favorite, oft-repeated phrases like “this is an issue,” “fundamentally, we have a problem,” and “respectfully”? Or was it the natural occurrence of all the air being sucked out of the room as soon as Cushing begins to speak?
John Cook suspected these “natural occurrences” were arroyos, but Cushing set him straight and quickly responded, “Mr. Cook, I did quite a bit of research, according to the United States Geological survey, we don’t have any arroyos in El Paso.” I couldn’t make out what his point was...either we shouldn’t be using the term “arroyo” because it’s a Spanish word not recognized by the feds or he truly doesn’t believe we have arroyos. Because he’s such a poor communicator, I could not tell. Nevertheless, watch out because next time you call an arroyo…well…an arroyo, good ole’ Bob Cushing might be there to set you straight!
Thankfully, no action was taken on the issue.
The natural occurrence of me waking up as soon as a Cushing item was over then occurred.
Lance Ruck, Miracle Cure for Insomnia
I don’t have much to say on the following item:
19C. Discussion and action on Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad crossing on Doniphan and SWIG. [Mayor Pro Tempore Anthony W. Cobos, (915) 541-4123]
However, what I found interesting about it was that Cobos made quite a to-do about giving Lance Ruck yet another open forum by announcing “I would like to recognize Mr. Lance Ruck, who has taken quite a bit of his own time,” to help Cobos. I still am not sure what Cobos’ ulterior motives were with making this such a Ruck-centric meeting. Maybe that information will materialize later.
I also have no idea what the item was about because Ruck’s explanation was so convoluted and difficult to follow that I lost complete interest (another one of those “natural occurrences,” dear reader). Sorry, but that happens from time to time with your old friend. My mind wandered, my pencil fell, and sweet slumber beckoned.
I think Ruck’s studying the art of rhetoric with the bard himself, Robert Cushing.
District 5 Vacancy
Folks, here’s our chance:
23. MUNICIPAL CLERK: Discussion and action on the adoption of a Resolution calling for a special election for the election in the City of El Paso of a District Representative for District No. 5. (Attachment) [Municipal Clerk, Richarda Duffy Momsen, (915) 541-4127]
Jim Martinez, referring to Rev. Tom Brown, a potential candidate in District 5 and pastor of the Word of Life Church, informed Council that one of the polling places is this man’s church. Paul Escobar stated that it might be best not to use this person’s church as a polling place simply to avoid the perception of a conflict of interest.
Pointing at Power’s old chair, Rev. Brown came to the podium and said that the seat needs to be filled; he then announced to the world that he would be filing to run.
Reverend Brown didn’t seem pleased that Council would be asking for a new polling place because he said having his church as a polling place gives it publicity. He argued that if a school employee were to run for office, would they want to prohibit voting at that school?
“It’s not the same thing,” argued Wardy. Rev. Brown didn’t at all seem concerned about the perceived conflict of interest.
District 5 voters, interpret that as you choose. If you ask me, I can now see why Cobos would be so excited about getting this guy on Council.
The item passed unanimously. Let the games begin.
So Long Darth Vader, Hello City Manager
The following items, which lay the groundwork for the transition from Chief Administrative Officer (or more recently, “The Reign of Darth Vader”) to City Manager were passed with no (significant) discussion:
25A. An Ordinance amending Ordinance No. 14171, to redesignate the officer for public information for the City of El Paso; and to clarify the application of the charges set forth in Ordinance No. 14171. (Attachment) [Mayor & Council, Jim Martinez, (915) 541-4015]
25F. An Ordinance amending Title 2 (Administration and Personnel), Chapter 2.92 (Ethics); Section 2.92.050 (Standards of Conduct) to change the reference to the Chief Administrative Officer to the City Manager; the penalty being as provided in Sections 2.92.090 and 1.08.010 - 1.08.030 of the El Paso Municipal Code. (Attachment) [Mayor & Council, Jim Martinez, (915) 541-4015]
25G. An Ordinance to Amend Title 15 (Public Services), by amending Chapter 15.08 (Street Rentals), Section 15.08.012 (Application for Franchise) to revise Subsection 15.08.012.A; and Section 15.08.013 (Assignment of Franchise), to revise Subsection 15.08.013A, to change the references to the position of Chief Administrative Officer to the City Manager. (Attachment) [Mayor & Council, Jim Martinez, (915) 541-4015]
29. An Ordinance establishing the functions of the Department known as the City Manager's Office. (Attachment) [Office of Management and Budget, David Almonte, (915) 541-4011]
The following items change the titles of the Deputy Chief Administrative Officers to Assistant City Managers and were postponed for two weeks:
25B. An Ordinance repealing Ordinance Nos. 15529 and 15185 and establishing a new Ordinance that creates and establishes the duties of the Building and Planning Services Department. (Attachment) [Mayor & Council, Jim Martinez, (915) 541-4015]
25C. An Ordinance repealing Ordinance Nos. 15546 and 15186 and establishing a new Ordinance that creates and establishes the duties of the Municipal Services Department. (Attachment) [Mayor & Council, Jim Martinez, (915) 541-4015]
25D. An Ordinance repealing Ordinance Nos. 15531, 15239 and 15184 and establishing a new Ordinance that creates and establishes the duties of the Financial and Administrative Services Department. (Attachment) [Mayor & Council, Jim Martinez, (915) 541-4015]
25E. An Ordinance repealing Ordinance Nos. 15530 and 15187 and establishing a new Ordinance that creates and establishes the duties of the Quality of Life Services Department. (Attachment) [Mayor & Council, Jim Martinez, (915) 541-4015]
25H. An Ordinance amending Title 18 (Building and Construction), Chapter 18.60 (Flood Damage Prevention); Section 18.60.420 (Designation of the Floodplain Administrator), Section 18.60.430 (Duties and Responsibilities of the Floodplain Administrator), Section 18.60.440 (Duties and responsibilities of the Deputy Chief Administrative Officer) and Section 18.60.450 (Duties and Responsibilities of the Street Director) of the El Paso Municipal Code. (Attachment) [Mayor & Council, Jim Martinez, (915) 541-4015]
Only the City Manager portion of the following resolution was approved:
7Q. Assigning all duties, responsibilities or obligations
previously assigned to the Chief Administrative Officer to the City Manager and assigning all duties, responsibilities or obligations previously assigned to a Deputy Chief Administrative Officer to a Deputy City Manager. (Attachment) [Mayor & Council, Jim Martinez, (915) 541-4015]
Maybe, just maybe, City employees will be led by a more Yoda-like leader instead of the dark lord of the Sith, scourge of the Jedi, master of the dark side and the Emperor’s most loyal servant.
Yet More Spotlight on Lance Ruck
When it came time to discuss the following items, Lance Ruck was again ready to put in his two cents (an inflated valuation, to be sure):
28A. An ordinance amending Ordinance 8064, Civil Service Rules and Regulations, to change references made to the Chief Administrative Officer and Mayor to the City Manager as necessitated by the transition to a Council-Manager form of government. (Attachment) [Human Resources, Terry A. Bond, (915) 541-4509]
28B. An ordinance amending Ordinance 8065, Civil Service Rules and Regulations, to change references made to the Chief Administrative Officer and Mayor to the City Manager as necessitated by the transition to a Council-Manager form of government. (Attachment) [Human Resources, Terry A. Bond, (915) 541-4509]
Ruck stated that the Civil Service Commission had passed the ordinances listed above by a vote of 4-2; since then, he claimed, some mystery person had made substantive changes to the items. Who that was, he did not say. What the changes were, he did not say. He was asking Council to delete the items so that the Civil Service Commission could review the latest surreptitious revisions. He even added that whoever made those revisions had no authority to do so.
Poor Lance; someone’s always trying to usurp his authority!
Lupe Cuellar, Assistant City Attorney on human resource matters, told Council that there were no substantive changes made, so she had no clue what Ruck was taking about. That made at least two of us.
Cushing made a motion to postpone the items for one week and the motion passed.
After the Meeting . . . .
Although this has nothing to do with the meeting, I can’t help but want to share some added information with my loyal readers.
On Friday morning, exiting interim CAO Jim Martinez was a guest on the Patrick Candelaria a.m. radio show. On that show, he claimed that the reason he initiated the confidentiality agreements with (former Solid Waste Management Director) Emma Acosta and (former Assistant City Attorney) Mike Moffeit was so that he could keep them from “spreading their infection,” which would “hurt morale.”
The “infection” he was specifically referencing was their threats to sue the City. Apparently, Emma Acosta had filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and I don’t know what Mike Moffeit’s claim would be, but I’m assuming it would be wrongful termination.
He claimed Acosta and Moffeit “threatened lawsuits and demanded money,” so the City gave them “a few thousand bucks.” I wouldn’t call Acosta’s sweet deal of $90,000 per year for the rest of her life “a few thousand bucks.” But when it suits them, the Wardy folks spend our tax dollars like there’s no tomorrow and then claim a tight budget requires laying off employees and cutting services.
Martinez defended his decision to create the confidentiality agreements by saying that the intent was “not to silence employees,” but instead, “I had to find a way to prevent them from running around and starting other lawsuits.”
Right. The last thing you need is employees talking to each other about lawsuits. However, what’s the lesson here? If you are an unhappy employee, just threaten to sue and you’ll get a cushy exit gift from good ole Wardy with our tax dollars.
When a caller pointed out that Martinez was effectively violating the terms of his own confidentiality agreement by “smearing” Acosta on the air, he tried to fix the damage by saying “I enjoy their company; they’re fun to drink beer with!” I at least hope Emma bought a few rounds, given the cushy settlement she got.
Martinez also admitted on the air that Elizondo is indeed creating a $165,000/year “Chief Litigator” position (which, by the way, folks, according to John Cook, is the only position of its kind in the southwest) and acting as if it wasn’t already a done deal, he speculated that he “might apply” for the position. If he thinks anyone was fooled by his coy act, he’s delusional.
Unfortunately, Martinez left the show by 8:00 a.m., so not much good information was disclosed.
Emma Acosta couldn’t resist calling in and asked Candelaria “Now do you see what I’m up against?”
I don’t know why she’s complaining! She got the money she asked for and will never have to work another day in her life. It’s the rest of us who are “up against” something – an administration that wants to silence critics who could potentially help the citizens of El Paso understand what the heck is going on at City Hall.
Martinez then criticized Times reporter David Crowder for implying that the agreements were kept from the public. Martinez claimed, absurdly, that all you had to do was call him and he would have disclosed the agreements. However, as one caller pointed out, it would have been impossible for anyone to have done this. The agreements prohibit the ex-employees from even revealing the existence of the agreements. And Martinez never informed anyone, not even Council, of their existence. So how could anyone then call him up and ask about them? As the caller pointed out, the public would have had to read Martinez’s mind. This is pure Martinez double-speak. I’m assuming that someone tipped off Crowder to the existence of the agreements, or he would never have known to make Texas open records requests for the agreements.
John Cook then called into the show during the break and, according to Candelaria, stated that the position would be carved in stone soon because it has been written into the City’s budget. Cook pointed out that he is the lone vote of dissension when it comes to opposing the creation of this “Chief Litigator” position (or “job carving,” as he puts it) and of hiring Martinez for it.
Cook is but one vote. What will probably happen is that the rest of City Council will…say it with me, now!...rubber stamp this.
Jim Martinez did not help his cause or that of his boss, Joe Wardy, with his appearance on the radio. But all this will be for naught unless concerned citizens let Council know it would be utterly unacceptable to make a guy like Jim Martinez chief litigator for the City of El Paso.
Don’t forget, folks, you have a chance to make your feelings known on this and other abuses at Saturday’s budget hearing (where the budget will be finalized) and at Tuesday’s City Council meeting (where the budget will be voted on). If you can’t make it you should at the very least email all the City Representatives and the Mayor about your feelings. If knowledgeable and caring citizens don’t speak up, the cronyism will never end and we will have no one to blame but ourselves.
Taking my Cue from Wardy
And that concluded the political olympics for this week!
And what lesson did we learn from this week’s events, my friends? Let me put it to you this way: I think that next time I bounce a check, I might just tell my bank to postpone the item and let them know that I am very much against bouncing checks; I might also blame the recipient of the check as well for not telling me my balance was low.
That’s it! Let’s all try it.
I can’t wait ‘till next week, folks. Until then…have a good one.