More Specifics About Mayor Martinez' Squandering of AEP Texas Settlement Funds and the Turbulent City Commission Meeting 1/21/14

Mayor Tony Martinez

The disturbing revelation at the January 21, 2013 City Commission meeting that Mayor Tony Martinez had been dipping into the $3,060,000 settlement the city received from AEP Texas for personal whims has shocked many in the community.  Commissioners Villarreal and Portillo had placed an item on the agenda to get control of the remaining balance of that fund before it was liquidated by Martinez:

12. Consideration and ACTION to acknowledge the expenditures paid from the AEP lawsuit settlement proceeds and to approve an expenditure budget from the remaining proceeds.
(Commissioners J. Villarreal/D. Portillo)

City Finance Officer Pete Gonzalez stepped up to the podium after handing each commissioner a copy of a report on how the fund heretofore had been used.  Gonzalez reported that $393,142 of the settlement funds had been spent, leaving a fund balance of $2,666,858.  

The first item of contention was the movement of the historic Stillman House, initially for $25,000 from the King Ranch to the lot next to the Cueto Building, then subsequently to Linear Park for an additional $14,000.  Any expenditure over $35,000 legally must come before the City Commission for approval. The argument by City Manager Cabler, joined by Commissioner Rose Gowen and City Attorney Mark Sossi, was that these moves were two separate contracts.  

Commissioner Estela Chavez-Vasquez

Commissioner Estela Chavez-Vasquez viewed the expenditure as essentially one project split into two operations.  Actually, a case can be made for Vasquez' point of view because no effort was made to ever permanentize the building.  It remained for 11 months, unleveled, without foundation. Commissioner Rose Gowen, trying to reason with Chavez-Vasquez on the issue stated:  "We did not realize we were going to have to move it twice."  City Attorney Mark Sossi echoed that by saying moving the house again was "not contemplated."

Those statements by Gowen and Sossi directly conflict with what City Planner Ramiro Gonzalez told the Brownsville Herald as reported October 18, 2013: "When the house was first moved here, that location was always meant to be a temporary location,” he said.  In other words, the city ALWAYS knew the Stillman House would be moved twice.  If they did not have a final location in mind, the exact final cost of the two moves may have not been determined, but it would obviously exceed the $35,000 threshold.

Commissioner Jessica Tetreau-Kalifa

Two other expenditures were questioned by Commissioner Jessica Tetreau-Kalifa.  "What is the Brownsville Downtown Revitalization Information Office?" she asked.  Cabler went on to explain that this office would be used for meetings about downtown.  What he did not say, but this blog reported several months ago was that this office at 1101-A E. Washington was originally planned to be Mayor Martinez' downtown office.  A Public Information Request we received from the city showed that a lease was signed by the city to run from October 8, 2013 to October 7, 2014 at $500.00 per month.  $3,505.91 was paid out for materials to refurbish the office. That modest figure did not include labor.  As many as four City of Brownsville trucks could be seen outside the building for several weeks with many workers laboring feverishly. The furnishings were supplied by the mayor, except for the chairs which were from storage.  (The office is not used daily basis and is not open for public access.  At least one meeting has been held there, but in any event, even with a modest lease, it was a foolish waste of tax dollars considering the available space owned by the city.)

Once we initiated two Public Information Requests concerning the property, the mayor changed his mind and decided he wanted an office across the street on 11th.  That is likely not the way the city will spin it, but our request was about the mayor's office specifically concerning the property at 1101-A E. Washington and remember the city admitted the furnishings were supplied by the mayor.  He would have no reason to furnish a space he did not intend to use as his office.  

Commissioner Ricardo Longoria next directed his question to City Manager Cabler:  "Why are we renting downtown properties when we already have empty space, for example as in Pete's office.?" Longoria asked.  

City Manager Charlie Cabler

"That's a good question," Cabler responded, "and it was exactly my question to the mayor."  (As we've reported before, the city has a great deal of empty space without leasing or purchasing more.  City Plaza has available offices.  The entire second floor of Market Square is unoccupied, not to mention the 11 buildings the city purchased last year, including Casa del Nylon for a total of $3.5 million.)  This is where City Manager Cabler and/or Finance Director Pete Gonzalez should simply tell the mayor:  "No, mayor, we can't use settlement funds to rent or purchase property for office space when we already have a substantial amount of office space."  

Commissioner Tetreau-Kalifa asked another question while examining the report in her hand:  "What is this expenditure of $42,000 for a property at 609 E. 11th?"  Cabler answered that it was one of three properties purchased on 11th Street across from the Brownsville Downtown Revitalization Information Office.  He left the distinct impression they were purchased as a package, but that's not true.  The properties at 615 and 611 E. 11th were purchased for $42,000 and $41,000 respectively, in 2012, not with AEP settlement funds.  The property at 609 E. 11th was purchased this past year sometime after April 2013 when Gonzalez said the city received the settlement. 

So, now the city is refurbishing the properties at 609, 611 and 615 E. 11th for yet another location for Mayor Martinez' office, plus a downtown police substation.

Sign in the window at 611 E. 11th Street

At the City Commission meeting, several commissioners acted surprised at these developments, yet all of this has been reported in this blog. We get the impression of a mayor out of control and commissioners out of the loop.  Two officials who could rein in the mayor, City Manager Charlie Cabler and Finance Director Pete Gonzalez, have not done so.  It's been reported consistently by trusted contacts within the city that many of the city staff live in fear of termination.  If the City Manager or Finance Director were subjected to a termination hearing introduced by the mayor because they stood up to him, protecting taxpayer assets, that termination would not stick.  Brownsville needs a strong City Manager and Finance Director to rein in Mayor Martinez.