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| Jessica Tetreau-Kalifa, New President of GBIC |
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| City Commissioner Cesar de Leon |
City Attorney Mark Sossi, who provides part-time legal expertise for the GBIC at a contracted rate of $5,000 per month, explained possible by-law changes including a new "due diligence" feature allowing third party firms to be contracted to vet potential GBIC projects, a role currently filled exclusively by the Brownsville Economic Development Council.
The need for audio enhancement was obvious as, sitting directly behind City Finance Director Lupe Granado, I could barely hear his reading of the GBIC Financial Report. Commissioner Tetreau-Kalifa interrupted his report to question an expenditure of $417,000 she noticed in her paperwork packet. As Granado started to explain the expense, BEDC Executive Director Jason Hilts broke in: "That's for marketing and trade shows," he stated.
After the meeting, I commented to De Leon and Tetreau-Kalifa: "417,000? Why that's nearly 10% of their annual taxpayer funding. "Marketing' could include almost anything; hotel rooms, food and liquor. It's a very dangerously non-specific description of an expenditure."
De Leon said that he would insist that Granado give a much more detailed explanation for that expense at the next meeting. The commissioner also renewed his promise that the unique situation of having three city commissioners on this 4A funds board would not be permanent.
"I will resign as soon as we get this board on track," he promised.
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| Evaristo Gamez, Jr., City Permit Director |
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So is BEDC's Hilts trying to take credit for all permits issued by the city? Sounds like him.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a puppet board for city management, not a board of the communities best.
ReplyDeleteYou have to give them credit for stripping Da Mayor and his appointees their power. It should be interesting to see what this commission fueled board is going to do with Da Mayor Jason Hilton and Gilbert Lightyear.
ReplyDeleteHow long are the taxpayers of Brownsville going to believe the perpetual lies and half truths spit out by Halfbrain Hilts and flunky yes-man Salinas and the rest of the corrupt BEDC crew? What have we gotten out of all those trips to South America at TAXPAYERS expense? NADA!!! We pay hundred thousand dollar salary to indulge credit card scammer Hilts and clueless Salinas, a lackluster reporter for a minor league newspaper, in bait and switch projects that go nowhere. Our Industrial Park is a ghost town, with zero occupancy, and this is supposed to be marketed by BEDC when they go on these trips. All BEDC is good for is to support people who know jackshit about bringing industry to a town with tons of unemployed folks. Instead they use some cockamamie logic to justify spending Brownsville money to promote the Matamoros maquila industry. Now they want to rip off the Permit dept. and take credit for those? These guys need to go now. Keep up the good work, Mr. Barton.
ReplyDeleteDavid B.needs to go he has never have a good idea even if his life depended on it la vasura pa'fuera
ReplyDeleteDavid Betancourt is a piece of shit official who aims for the low hanging fruit public offices. Our community is the shape it is because of people like him who sleep at the wheel.
ReplyDeleteAnd pepole want to put him as Tax Collector please he is never around. He cant even show up to these meetings what makes you think he is the one to fill the spot. He would not know where to start or what to do he is an idiot
ReplyDeleteCAN HE EVEN COUNT
DeleteHe does know when he needs to pee.
DeleteAs long as the 3rd party vetting company isn't Ambiotec Engineering, Jacobs Engineering, Dannenbaum Engineering (noticing a pattern here, folks?) It would probably be ok. I wouldn't trust BEDC to tell me when it needed to pee.
ReplyDelete