HOW BROWNSVILLE'S "LEADERS" CONTINUE TO ABUSE 4A AND 4B FUNDING

From the editor:  This Brownsville Observer article from 2021 is just as current today, perhaps even more so. 

Reporting from Juan Montoya's El Rrun Rrun(https://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2023/07/how-cob-rewards-incompetence-make-her.html) indicate that the players at BCIC and GBIC are gearing up to once again use 4A and 4B funds from these two entities as their personal ATM machines.

UNDERSTANDING THE CITY OF BROWNSVILLE'S UNETHICAL MISHANDLING OF 4A AND 4B FUNDS

Brownsville City Commission

Brownsville has two EDC's, Economic Development Corporations, with distinctly different missions, the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation(GBIC) and the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation(BCIC).

Both groups were made possible by the Development Corporation Act of 1979 which allows Texas cities to earmark a portion of sales tax monies for economic development projects, typically referred to as 4A "economic development" initiatives.

In 1982, another wrinkle was added, allowing cities to divert part of the sales tax monies to what are commonly called 4B "quality of life" projects.

In Brownsville each entity, the 4A GBIC and the 4B BCIC receives the identical amount; 1/4 cent of every sales tax dollar collected.

In 2020, according to BCIC CEO Josh Mejia, that amounted to $4,600,000 each, with both  GBIC and the BCIC getting the same.

After overhead and making it's contribution to debt service and maintenance of the sports park, the BCIC only has $2,223,957.75 left to disperse, less than half of "their share" of sales tax monies.(GBIC's numbers will likely be similar after overhead and their contribution to the airport is deducted.  We await the Public Information Request from GBIC)

The development act guides for 4A projects are as follows:

The Type A sales tax is primarily intended for manufacturing and industrial development. EDCs may use Type A revenue to fund land, buildings, equipment, facilities expenditures, targeted infrastructure and improvements for projects including:

• manufacturing and industrial facilities, recycling facilities, distribution centers, and small warehouse facilities;
• research and development facilities, regional or national corporate headquarters facilities, primary job training facilities operated by higher education institutions, job training classes, telephone call centers and career centers not located within a junior college taxing district;
• certain infrastructure improvements that promote or develop new or expanded business enterprises;
• aviation facilities;
• commuter rail, light rail or commuter bus operations;
• port-related facilities, railports, rail switching facilities, marine ports, inland ports; and
• maintenance and operating costs associated with projects.

Allowable 4B projects include:

How Type B Sales Tax Revenue Can Be Used

The Type B sales tax may be used for any project eligible under Type A rules and several other project types, including quality of life improvements. Type B corporations may pay for land, buildings, equipment, facilities, targeted infrastructure and improvements for:

• professional and amateur sports and athletic facilities, tourism and entertainment facilities, convention facilities and public parks;
• related store, restaurant, concession, parking and transportation facilities;
• related street, water and sewer facilities; and
• affordable housing.

To promote and develop new and expanded business enterprises that create or retain primary jobs, a Type B EDC may fund:

• public safety facilities;
• recycling facilities;
• streets, roads, drainage and related improvements;
• demolition of existing structures;
• general municipally owned improvements; and
• maintenance and operating costs associated with projects.

A special provision of 4B allows cities within 25 miles of the Texas-Mexico border and a population under 50,000 OR has an unemployment rate exceeding the state's for the previous 12 months, to use those monies on airport improvements.

Brownsville has done this, using a large chunk of BCIC funds to pay for the new airport terminal.(We are awaiting a Public Information Request from BCIC CEO Helen Ramirez for the exact amount.)

What is the point of all of this, two boards of seven supervised by 4 or 5 salaried personnel?  The whole process seems unwieldy, top heavy and unnecessarily costly.

Wouldn't it be simpler and more cost effective to simply allow the City Commission to fund these projects from the General Fund?

Absolutely!

But, there's a noble reason why cities go to so much trouble to create and fund citizen boards to disperse 4A and 4B monies.  It's to "separate" the entire process from "politics," lest the taxpayers get the impression that city officials are simply funding their cronies, friends, relatives, neighbors, not dispersing the monies evenhandedly to all who qualify.

That is why it's so damn reprehensible that, currently, and for some time, the GBIC board is made up entirely of city commissioners and the mayor, exactly the opposite of the entire purpose of 4A and 4B, diametrically opposite of the whole thrust of the Texas Development Act.

If the mayor and city commission are going to determine how these monies are dispersed, why are we paying the salaries of GBIC staff, renting the historic Young House, paying utilities, maintenance, funding trips all across the country for seminars and training for GBIC and BCIC board members alike?

If the mayor and city commission are going to bypass the entire purpose of 4A and 4B and make the decisions themselves, disband the GBIC, disband BCIC, saving likely $5,000,000 in overhead, salaries, etc.

The only reason this unethical bypassing of 4B guidelines has continued for the last two years is because the mayor and the city commission WANT it that way.  

They WANT control of how these monies are dispersed.

Surely, recent developments alone demonstrate that's not good for our city.

Double Dipping Helen Ramirez

(As an additional sidepoint; Why is Helen Ramirez both GBIC CEO and Assistant City Manager at salaries likely totaling over $300,000?  Are those both part-time jobs?  Is it not a conflict of interest to work for both the city and GBIC at the same time?  Why is  Brownsville so ethically-challenged?