THE BIZARRO WORLD OF THE BROWNSVILLE CITY COMMISSION~10/16/18

Standing Room Only at Brownsville City Commission, 10/16/18

The Brownsville City Commission, bless its heart, shows up every first and third Tuesday of each month, offers up the Mayor's and Commissioner's Activity Updates, honors the Employee of the Month and blitzes through the Consent Agenda Items.  

Where things bog down, get irrational, even illegal, is during the segment known as Items for Individual Consideration.

That happened again Tuesday night, not with the appointment of a new City Manager, young Noel Bernal.  That vote was unanimous, although one commissioner expressed reservations with the process.

Things got weird with Agenda Item #16, selecting a firm to collect delinquent city taxes.  The commission had appointed a committee to vet the applying firms and make a recommendation to the commission.  Only the state-dominant Linebarger firm, along with the Purdue outfit submitted bids, with the appointed committee, after review, recommending the city choose Purdue.

Commissioner Rick "DJ" Longoria ignored the recommendation and moved that Linebarger be selected.  Commissioner Cesar de Leon seconded that motion.  WTF boys???  The commission approved the motion unanimously.

OK, kids.  You appoint a committee to vet the firms, then you totally disregard the recommendation?. . How much is Linebarger paying you little miscreants or what are they promising you?  Damn you little city commission turds!

The action regarding Agenda Items 17-19 was just as befuddling, but a bit more complicated.  These items were in response to an item considered and passed at the last commission meeting, declaring that no one could serve on more than one city board.

The city came up with the names of three individuals serving on more than one city board; Trey Mendez, Dillon Vanderford and Nurith Galonsky.(Even I know that John Cowen and others serve on more than one board, but we'll let the city find out in its own due time, after all they make the big bucks.  LOL)

So, the agenda items called for the removal of these three from ONE of the boards on which they were serving.

First up for the guillotine was Trey Mendez, sitting about five feet to my right in the audience.  Commissioner Jessica Tetreau-Kalifa commented on how much Mr. Mendez had done for downtown and hoped he could continue to serve on the Main Street Advisory Board.

Mayor Tony Martinez, despite the commission passing a ruling to the contrary at the last meeting also chimed in:  "I see Trey in the audience.  Would it be appropriate to ask him to come up here to ask if he wants to serve on both boards?"

Mendez, a personal friend of mine, must have nodded "yes" as Martinez confirmed.  Incredibly, these city commission dumbasses, after approving the "one board only" agenda item last meeting, now voted unanimously to go against that newly-enacted policy and allow Mendez service on two boards.

Next up for execution was commission policy violator Dillon Vanderford, also currently serving on two city boards.  

The commission dilly-dallied until Cesar de Leon slipped a copy of an email from Vanderford to the mayor.

"Well, according to this email, Mr. Vanderford also wants to continue to serve," stated the mayor.

Unanimously, Vanderford was allowed a commission reprieve from their own newly-enacted policy.  Dammit, boys and girls!  This is getting embarrassing!  Have you no shame??

Interestingly, Nurith Galonsky, the third violator of the newly-enacted policy was quickly approved for removal from one board, the GBIC, the very board she'd recently sued with respect to the hiring of Mario Losoya as director.  No mention was made on whether or not Galonsky wanted to continue to serve, just an up or down vote.

Does anyone smell a rata?  Does it not seem like the purpose of this whole one board only policy was to get rid of Nurith Galonsky?