Read this story about human nature and about not being truthful and not doing what is right even if its to your own best interest.....This story applies to our city manager and what is going on in city hall here in Weslaco:
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0BxG0kJQuAjrsY2VkMzBlOWYtM2JkOS00MjRlLWI2ZmUtY2UxMWI0NTExNDY0&hl=en_US
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
City Manager not managing the city finances appropriately! He has yet to take any responsibility or be accountable...
The tale of two stories! The city manager of Weslaco has yet to take any responsibility or be accountable for any of his leadership or let me say lack of leadership...He boasts that the city has gone through 4 city managers in less than a year and there is stability now with him at the helm....Are You Serious! You have been year for a year and a half already and so have the chairs....what have they done? NOTHING!
Please stop putting POLITICS BEFORE POLICY.......
Email I sent to city manager yesterday, please read:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GiNL5BQiNIjDjHZ8TZ_LSiL92pmBDu31Th0EhzaN93E/edit?hl=en_US
Please stop putting POLITICS BEFORE POLICY.......
Email I sent to city manager yesterday, please read:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GiNL5BQiNIjDjHZ8TZ_LSiL92pmBDu31Th0EhzaN93E/edit?hl=en_US
Thursday, July 7, 2011
OPEN RECORDS REQUEST ON CONFLICTS OF INTEREST DISCLOSURE STATMENTS
Here are some of the records that were released to me by the city secretary's office of Weslaco via open records request:
Please review them and the documents speak for themselves.......
Please review them and the documents speak for themselves.......
Monday, June 20, 2011
June 21, 2011 City Commission Agenda
Here is the link for the city commission meeting agenda for June 21, 2011:
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0BxG0kJQuAjrsNDcyZWViZWMtOGE0NS00YTRkLWI4NGUtY2Q4NmFiMGQzNzNh&hl=en_US
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0BxG0kJQuAjrsNDcyZWViZWMtOGE0NS00YTRkLWI4NGUtY2Q4NmFiMGQzNzNh&hl=en_US
CONFLICT OF INTEREST!
Answers to the most frequently asked questions about the Texas Conflicts of Interest Laws
By Office of the Attorney General.Here are some that we really need to look at and be concerned with how Johnny Cuellar and some other commissioners have voted on several contracts:
7. Is the fact that a local official is employed by a business entity sufficient to create a potential conflict?Being employed by a business entity will prevent a local official from discussing or voting on his governmental unit’s contract involving that business, provided 10 percent or more of the official’s previous year’s income came from his employment with that business.
9. May an indirect benefit from a contract with a business constitute a possible conflict of interest?In certain situations, an indirect benefit that a local official may receive regarding a business entity may be sufficient to constitute a conflict of interest. For example, the Dallas Court of Appeals concluded that the definition of “substantial interest” did not distinguish between funds received directly from a business entity and funds received indirectly. Whether a particular interest was a “substantial interest” was a question of fact.
15. May a local official deliberate about an issue for which the official has a conflict of interest if the official abstains from voting on the issue?A local official may not discuss an issue for which he has a conflict of interest even if he abstains from voting on the item. If a conflict of interest exists, the official must file the required affidavit, and both abstain from discussing the matter and abstain from voting on them.
A member of a governmental body does not participate by merely attending an executive session on the matter and remaining silent during the deliberations. However, it may be wise for the interested public officer to refrain from attending open or closed meetings that address the matter in which he is interested.Here I am going to provide a link for both city commission meetings where they gave the enterprise fund away without discussing numbers or even soliciting bids.....5 citizens spoke against giving it away but they didnt mind them they had there agenda and this was decided long time ago....
Please look carefully on who is making the motions etc. etc. ITs Johnny Cuellar and its Robert J. Garza....Rumor has it that Rey Alegria (who was working for BFI during these discussions, he might still be but better yet he is a school board member in Donna and used to be a city commissioner there....he is known to make back room deals....he did it in Donna and I caught him in one....)....
June 15, 2010 minutes
July 6, 2010 minutes
Saturday, June 18, 2011
ALLIED WASTE????????
here is an article written by Raul Garcia on Allied waste and the city....here is the link: http://smoothraul.blogspot.com/2011/05/braking-up-of-weslaco-garbage.html
he has several articles about this so go ahead and read them....
It states that an hour after swearing our Mayor Mike Wise the commission voted on giving our way this enterprise fund......guess who put it on the agenda? Johnny Cuellar....he also made the motion even after Commissioner Tafolla and Rodriguez wanted to table it to get more information but no....The big question is, why the rush into this? It was projected to make 2.8 million before they gave it away.....It made 2.2 million in fiscal year 2006 that was actual.....Commissioner Cuellar's justification was because the city pays 200k a year in maintaining operations and the city would save on equipment repairs and purchasing equipment....
Folks, I don't have a PhD but I have several businesses and I know numbers and 200k is a little less than 10 percent of the gross revenue it was producing, how much in maintenance and equipment were we going to spend? This was a bad business decision and one can only speculate why? Is it because some of the commissioners that voted for it were going to get their beak wet?
Is it because Johnny was going to get his common workers hired there?
By Raul Garcia
One hour before the swearing in of Mayor-elect Mike Wise on June 15, 2010 the Weslaco City Council voted to enter negotiations with Allied Waste Services to explore amending their existing contract to pick up the public's solid waste.
he has several articles about this so go ahead and read them....
It states that an hour after swearing our Mayor Mike Wise the commission voted on giving our way this enterprise fund......guess who put it on the agenda? Johnny Cuellar....he also made the motion even after Commissioner Tafolla and Rodriguez wanted to table it to get more information but no....The big question is, why the rush into this? It was projected to make 2.8 million before they gave it away.....It made 2.2 million in fiscal year 2006 that was actual.....Commissioner Cuellar's justification was because the city pays 200k a year in maintaining operations and the city would save on equipment repairs and purchasing equipment....
Folks, I don't have a PhD but I have several businesses and I know numbers and 200k is a little less than 10 percent of the gross revenue it was producing, how much in maintenance and equipment were we going to spend? This was a bad business decision and one can only speculate why? Is it because some of the commissioners that voted for it were going to get their beak wet?
Is it because Johnny was going to get his common workers hired there?
Sunday, May 8, 2011
By Raul Garcia
One hour before the swearing in of Mayor-elect Mike Wise on June 15, 2010 the Weslaco City Council voted to enter negotiations with Allied Waste Services to explore amending their existing contract to pick up the public's solid waste.
The City of Weslaco’s 2007 five year Fiscal Forecast estimated the Sanitation Fund’s Garbage Fees would have produced 2.8 million
The City of Weslaco’s 2007 five year Fiscal Forecast estimated the Sanitation Fund’s Garbage Fees would have produced 2.8 million in 2011. In 2006 the actual revenue Weslaco raked in with the Garbage Fees alone was 2.2 million.
Discussions to consider entering a contract with Allied Waste Management for collection of solid waste services dates all the way back to June 2004. According to the December 7, 2004 meeting minutes, then Mayor Joe Sanchez asked if the city was amending Allied Waste Management’s current contract and City Attorney Ramon Vela said it would not be since Allied Waste’s Brush contract was on a month-to-month basis.
According to the Weslaco City Council Minutes on March 16, 2010 Commissioner Cuellar made a motion to amend the existing contract noting the City spent $200,000 to maintain the operation of the solid waste collection on an annual basis and the city would save on equipment repairs and purchasing equipment.
At the June 15, 2010 City Council meeting when City Manager Leo Olivares was given authorization to negotiate with Allied Waste Management under the terms of the current contract a rate to collect the residential garbage for the City of Weslaco and present the proposal to the City Council for their approval.
Mayor Pro-Tem Rene Rodriguez and Commissioner Jerry Tafolla asked to table the motion because of concern regarding the employees and to explore the benefits of privatizing the Sanitation Fund’s Garbage Collection.
“It should have been tabled because we didn’t go out for public sale,” Commissioner Tafolla said. “We should have allowed other companies to submit their bid.”
All Valley Waste owner, Paula Villanueva said in a letter to the City of Weslaco, the city has a waste management collection system in place and it would be a big mistake to give the residential waste contract to a private company.
“The city will be committing financial suicide by eliminating this source of income,” Villanueva stated.
One year later the garbage collection fleet and employees are gone so is the City of Weslaco better off with the privatization of the residential garbage collection to Allied Waste Management?
Discussions to consider entering a contract with Allied Waste Management for collection of solid waste services dates all the way back to June 2004. According to the December 7, 2004 meeting minutes, then Mayor Joe Sanchez asked if the city was amending Allied Waste Management’s current contract and City Attorney Ramon Vela said it would not be since Allied Waste’s Brush contract was on a month-to-month basis.
According to the Weslaco City Council Minutes on March 16, 2010 Commissioner Cuellar made a motion to amend the existing contract noting the City spent $200,000 to maintain the operation of the solid waste collection on an annual basis and the city would save on equipment repairs and purchasing equipment.
At the June 15, 2010 City Council meeting when City Manager Leo Olivares was given authorization to negotiate with Allied Waste Management under the terms of the current contract a rate to collect the residential garbage for the City of Weslaco and present the proposal to the City Council for their approval.
Mayor Pro-Tem Rene Rodriguez and Commissioner Jerry Tafolla asked to table the motion because of concern regarding the employees and to explore the benefits of privatizing the Sanitation Fund’s Garbage Collection.
“It should have been tabled because we didn’t go out for public sale,” Commissioner Tafolla said. “We should have allowed other companies to submit their bid.”
All Valley Waste owner, Paula Villanueva said in a letter to the City of Weslaco, the city has a waste management collection system in place and it would be a big mistake to give the residential waste contract to a private company.
“The city will be committing financial suicide by eliminating this source of income,” Villanueva stated.
One year later the garbage collection fleet and employees are gone so is the City of Weslaco better off with the privatization of the residential garbage collection to Allied Waste Management?
Thursday, June 16, 2011
EXTRA, EXTRAS INC.
Here are the links so that you can view who owns Extra, Extras Inc...also there is a link for the 2006 Texas Conflicts of Interest Laws Made Easy from the Attorney General's Office....
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