IS LINEBARGER SNIFFING AROUND THE CITY COMMISSION AGAIN FOR DELINQUENT TAX COLLECTION CONTRACT?

By Jim Barton

http://www.meanmisterbrownsville.blogspot.com/


The huge Linebarger law firm works the political game so well.
They win contracts again and again, not on merit, but on influence. They recently garnered the contract for delinquent tax collection at BISD despite charging more for the service and having a poorer collection record than at least one of the competing bidders.
Recently, though, the City Commission, at the urging of Mayor Tony Martinez, threw us a curve. It was decided to try doing collections in house, thus saving citizens a 30 percent recovery fee tacked on top of their fines. The move seemed benevolent and citizen-oriented, although I was cynically warned at the time that it was just a ploy to fail at collections and fall back to the open arms of Linebarger.
Here is part of the Mean Mister Brownsville report published 1/18/12:


Tony Martinez made a proposal at the 1/17/12 City Commission meeting that could make past due traffic citations less costly for those ticketed in Brownsville. Martinez spoke of "hard times" and the need not to put an excessive burden on locals who had difficulty paying traffic fines. Martinez explained that the current practice has been to ad a 30 percent administrative fee to all citations after 60 days, providing revenue to an outside collection firm collecting payments. He stated that the collection rate was still rather small, perhaps as low as 22 percent on delinquent fines.

Now, we learn that Linebarger PR man Mark Moody is sniffing around the City Commission, angling for the collection contract. Actually, nothing has been put out for bids. The in-house experiment is still in progress. But protocol has never been Linebarger's long suit.
State Representative Rene Oliveira has done stellar work for Linebarger, Goggan, Blair & Sampson, L.L.P., but nothing for the citizens of the district. As we detailed in a Mean Mister Brownsville article dated 3/07/12:


Rene Oliveira's salary as a "Representative" of District 37 which includes Brownsville and Cameron County is said to be $7,200. He is also retained by the Brownsville Independent School District as interim counsel. But it is his work for Linebarger, Goggan, Blair and Sampson, LLP that gives his employer the most bang for the buck. First, a little historical perspective: In 2001 Oliveira spearheaded a committee to remove a line in section 3308 of the tax code limiting the delinquent tax collection fee to 15 percent, subsequently including language allowing a tax collection fee rate of 20 percent. That bill sailed through the Ways & Means Committee of which Rene was chairman and was passed by the entire house.
Considering Linebarger's near statewide presence in tax collection, how many millions of dollars did this sleight of hand add to the company's coffers?


Now, fast forward to 2012. With Rene Oliveira retained by BISD as interim counsel, but still connected to Linebarger, the February 2, 2012 board meeting agenda contains an action item INCREASING the tax collection rate by 2.5 percent netting the collection firm an extra $125,000.
And who is that newly named firm? Linebarger, Goggan, Blair and Sampson LLP.

(Please note: As documented by other bloggers, Linebarger was a substantial contributor to the campaigns of BISD board members Longoria, Escobedo and Saavedra.) Who pays this extra fee and the millions of dollars collected since 2001 by the passage Rene Oliveira's house bill? The tax payers, the very people Representative Rene Oliveira claims to represent.
We must not limit Oliveira's traitorous betrayal of Brownsville and Cameron County to tax matters. . . . . . Yes, Rene Oliveira is a representative, but not of the people of Brownsville, Cameron County and District 37.