BISD Board Shows Linebarger the Money~Chief Financial Officer Ismael Garcia Explains

     A special meeting of the BISD Board of Trustees dealt with a consent item to increase the collection fee on delinquent taxes from 12.5% to 15%.  As noted in earlier articles based on the previous year's collections, this affords Linebarger a raise of at least $125,000 of what they would have collected under the current rate.   A video of the entire exchange on the agenda item is at the bottom of this article.  

      As Board President Enrique Escobedo introduced the agenda item, Trustee Minerva Pena asked permission to raise a point of order.  Trustee Presas-Garcia objected and was recognized.  Presas-Garcia voiced the erroneous position that because Ms. Pena had voted against the award of the contract to Linebarger, she could not comment on subsequent rate change request.  Ms. Presas-Garcia has made this assertion before without anyone on the board challenging her.  She is, of course, wrong.  How one votes on an issue does not affect their ability to comment or raise a point of order on subsequent matters relating to that issue.  This is simply a feeble attempt by Presas-Garcia to suppress alternative viewpoints.

     So, Trustee Pena proceeded with her question:  "Why is the allowed collection fee being changed from 12.5% to 15%?"  The matter was referred to Chief Financial Officer Ismael Garcia.  Garcia started with a non-answer:  "This does not affect those who pay their taxes on time."  Duh!!  "92% of our citizens pay their taxes on time and are not affected." Garcia continued.  Minerva Pena still didn't understand why the adjustment was being made.  "It's because we changed collection firms," the financial officer continued.  Someone else explained that the Pena firm charged citizens 12.5% penalty on delinquent taxes whereas Linebarger charges 15%.  

     At this point Presas-Garcia raised the point of the non-assessment of the home of Enrique Pena, president of E. Pena and Associates, the district's previous tax collection firm.  This is a valid point.  Enrique Pena is ethically unqualified to collect taxes if he doesn't pay his own.  Just for accuracy, though, according to the Brownsville Herald, Pena purchased the land in 2002, paying taxes on the land since.  His home, built in 2004, was never assessed.  Pena, himself, brought the matter to the appraisal district's attention, according to a BISD spokesperson.  

     For the record, the Perdue firm had a superior tax collection in all the districts where they succeeded Linebarger.  Trustee Aguilar had a question:  "Will the district lose money if the rate is raised?"  That question revealed that Aquilar is clueless as to how this works.    Escobedo called for a vote, which was 4-3 in favor of the raise.  The so-called "Majority 4" voted in favor of the increase including Escobedo, Saavedra, Longoria and Presas-Garcia.  Colunga, Pena and Agular voted against the increase. . 

Here is the video.  The signal was somewhat fuzzy.(There are actually 2 videos.  My computer is running slow.  It may be very late 2/15/12 before both are uploaded.)