Along with the 200 percent increase in parking costs per hour contained in the parking ordinance changes that will be considered by our illustrious city commissioners tonight (from 25 cents to 75 per hour), there is also another section dealing with consulate personnel that might need some tweaking.
The section on "exempt" individuals from parking includes one that exempts the "(6) Consul and vice-consul of Mexico."
Well, there is a guideline about drafting ordinances for government that says that one should never be too specific about the things or people that one makes rules for. This appears to be one of those occasions.
We distinctly remember that commissioner Ricardo Longoria introduced Guatemalan Consul for South Texas Alba Dalila Caceres Lopez to the city commission.And we know that with the profusion of Central American immigrants to the South Texas area, the Honduran and Salvadoran consuls often make trips here to aid their countrymen.
Last June Honduras opened diplomatic offices in Dallas and McAllen, said Karol Escalante, second secretary for press and cultural affairs at the Honduran Embassy in Washington. Neither the Dallas nor McAllen office will be a full-blown consulate. However, consulate personnel will be present to assist their countrymen throughout South Texas.
So what will happen to the consulate staff from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala?
And how about consulate personnel from the countries represented at the University of Texas at Brownsville?
Will they – because they are not specifically mentioned in the new parking ordinance – not be exempt?
This ordinance is half cooked as it is. Besides the misguided effort to turn coming downtown into a moneymaker for the city at the expense of downtown business, the oversight of the consulate issue should make it Dead On Arrival (DOA).
3 comments:
The city leaders of Brownsville continue to trip over mouse turds in their effort to make policy. While the Mayor is determined to give city real estate away....he seeks to further alienate the public with policies that make no sense....like this parking change. I thought the point was to get people downtown....not drive them away.
The day will come when the city ends up reducing or doing away with parking fees in an effort to attract people downtown. The downtown merchants should have been leading the charge in opposition to this change.
First, $60 monthly for merchants and employees is out of the question, most merchants work only 6 days per week @$2.00 daily (8 parking Hours @$0.25 each)is $12 =$48 Month, plus, since they are paying in advance saving the City $ in Labor (Meter maids & Collectors)a fair price for the stickers should be $40 month
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