At $107,966 (plus benefits), Brownsville Police Chief Carlos Garcia is the third-highest paid city employee only behind City manager Charlie Cabler at $159,120 (an ex-cop himself) and Assistant City Manager for Finance Pete Gonzales, at $115,696.
Now we learn that Garcia is one of 25 applicants for the position of Chief of Police with the Brownsville Navigation District. Is this a step up?
Not really.
The position of chief over at the Gilded Ditch is a Professional Employee 3 (PE3). The minimum salary is $52,743.60 and the maximum is $92,301.30, to be negotiated withe the eventual candidate selected. There are some perks, however.
While Garcia was responsible for about 250 police officers in a city of almost 200,000, he will now be the head of a formidable seven-officer force and ride herd on a dwindling port force that has steadily decreased from a high of almost 6,000 workers in the different port leasees to a number estimated to hover between 2,000 to 3,000. Va a ser papita, bro Chale!
This is not much different from the pattern set by former BPD chief Ben (Benigno) Reyna. Reyna – through the good offices of former U.S. Rep. Solomon Ortiz – was named head of the U.S. Marshal's Service after a non-descript stint in Browntown. He later was jettisoned from the Marshal's Service after he performed dismally in the protection of federal judges, notably in the case of a Chicago federal judge whose relatives were threatened by criminals.
After that dismal performance, there was a little space made for Reyna at Juliet Garcia's UTB-TSC and a spot was created for him as Special Assistant to the Provost for Federal Relations at a respectable $108,233 plus benefits. Talk about rewarding failure!
Someone said that the City of Los Fresnos and La Feria actually had a bigger population than the port. At Los Fresnos, the salary range is from $30,000 to $40,000 when the town isn't broke.
So, for once Don Pedro is right about the gig at the port. "I imagine it's a pretty peaceful place so the work can't be hard," said the Don. He could have added that if you're the right guy for Reed and Port Director Eddie Campirano, it should be a breeze. Besides, he won't have to worry about boisterous commissioners beating their mates or the aggressive transvestites on Market Square.
9 comments:
On top of the Zeta crap is about to start spilling over onto Elizabeth street. No, as far as Chief Garcia is concerned, mama didn't raise no fool.
Rudolpho.
Carlos Garcia is a sharp man who has paid his dues....served in the marine corps, got an education and is a true professional and when have you ever heard of him be anywhere without his family in mind....got to respect him...maybe the papita is pay for those who have served...and served well, please do not confuse him with gavito, or reyna or guys like alex perez
At UTB loyalty to Queen Scorpiana is the prime requirement for employment. Failure is fine....but you must be loyal. Ben Reyna is like a poor puppet, spending much time roaming around the campus in his personal golf cart. The BPD is a mafia of sorts and Ben ascended to the Chief's position, not because of his abilities as a cop, but because he had clean hands.
Nick Consiglo, rents from a commissioner, with funds from economic development. A grivance was filed by Joe Rubio.
Harlingen is just as dirty as Brownsville and Cameron County.
(Side Bar Comments)
The word around city Hall is that Both Jerry Prep and Korry Marra are filing complaints against one another. Both are Harlingen city commissioners.
(Side Bar, not sh-t article)
ya esta la calabaza brother bon voyage chief garcia and welcome to the Port of Brownsville mas calmado only 7 employees or so good pay and benefits y ya esta areglado your hiring brother
Carlos might be a good cop, and an ex-marine, but he has had his share of movidas (without naming them, a few tv reporters). He makes guys like Perez, Gavito, and Reyna look like saints, so don't go there. And Los Fresnos and La Feria PD's chiefs only get paid $35,000, so how can the port justify paying their new chief $90,000 to run a department with 7 police officers and make maybe 1 or 2 calls a day?
Carlos Garcia is not a perfect Police Chief, but compared to most he is pretty damn good.
Also, he is very much underpaid for the population and unique challenges of the border.
If all of a sudden your populist imaginations feel someone with his responsibilities and performance does not match his current salary, then good luck finding one better.
Conrado may be looking for work soon…
That sounds like a job for the dead-beat BISD police chief Oscar Garcia. Chief Security Guard Garcia does a poor job doing anything at BISD, despite his minimal responsibilities. As things go among the cronies, when you're a loser, why not promote them!
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