After the city commission tabled the Draconian hike in parking meter rates by three times at Tuesday's meeting, city staff was running around like crazy today trying to find out who had come up with the idea in the fist place.
The commissioners decided that Brownsville residents with concerns about the proposed parking fee and fine increases will have an opportunity to voice their opinions during a planned town hall meeting to discuss the ordinance.
The first reading of the ordinance passed during a voice vote at the commission's last meeting, but on Tuesday, the proposal drew the public's ire.
Mayor Tony Martinez instead asked that City Manager Charlie Cabler organize a town hall meeting to hear the residents' opinions.
Under the existing ordinance, not paying a parking fine results in an increase from $5 to $10.
The removal of the item from the consent agenda was required under parliamentary rules that after District 1 Commissioner Ricardo Longoria Jr. registered his desire to vote against the item.
As reported in the local daily, the consent agenda is made up of items “considered to be routine by the City Commission” and is passed with one motion, according to the language that appears on each City Commission meeting agenda.
There is no separate discussion of the consent agenda items unless a commissioner requests it. That item is then pulled from the consent agenda and is considered in its normal sequence on the agenda..
The resolution notes that the city’s current parking meter ordinance was passed in October 1976 and that the city’s parking meter fee is well below the national average.
Assistant City Manager for Finance Pete Gonzalez said that the new ordinance earmarks the parking meter revenue for downtown investment.
Residents have long complained that finding a parking space in downtown Brownsville was so difficult that people often gave up and went shopping at Sunrise Mall or in norther Brownsville shopping centers instead of going through the hassle. They also countered administrator's arguments that it would make people shop more if they had to pay three times as much by pointing out that during the Christmas season the city provides free parking downtown to attract shoppers.
"Their arguments are a bunch of double talk," said a protestor. "Who wants to pay more for parking? It's heard enough finding a spot, let alone pay three times as much when you find one."
6 comments:
For once I agree with Ricardo "El D.J." Longoria. Why would the city want to make going downtown more unattractive than it already is? The downtown merchants and their employees who park and feed the meters....surely don't support this. Those of us who never go downtown don't really give a shit. But, just doesn't seem to be a policy that is supportive of "revitalizing" downtown Brownsville. Forty lashes for the idiot who put this on the agenda....
I hope that the commissioners will take into consideration that Brownsville is the poorest city in the nation.....
Their idea of downtown development is to funnel and earmark money for the Roses to tell us how to live and enforce it with our own tax dollars. It Tony and his stable of bitches on the commission and over at UT really wanted to develop downtown, they could easily do it with the money spent on their personal bullshit projects and have cash left over.
"Who came up with these lame idea?"
Must have been the same "Einstein" that figured that charging for the free parking at the Airport was going to increase passenger traffic.
Remember the time when some "brilliant" mind had those mini "island" areas down Elizabeth street to do a remodeling of downtown? It must have been the same person who came up with this idea of the 75 cents "hike" It ended up costing the city (the taxpayer) more money because they had to remove those areas because they ended up blocking the parking area in and many sidewalks down Elizabeth street. How much money does the person that does logistics get paid? What university did this person graduate from? "Patito" school of logistics? Brownsville might be the city with the most population in the RGV, BUT it is also the city where its leaders have pea brains in administrative, creative and logistical areas. Why is it so hard to ASK the mayor or comissioner in Mcallen what are they doing to attract the shoppers from Monterrey, from Coahuila, from Houston? WHY is it that Harlingen has an Olive Garden and Brownsville compadrismo has held back the construction of an Olive Garden here? Why is it that our mayor, who ran with a slogan of believing in Brownsville, has not brought in one single new company in his tenure as mayor?
Mayor and comissioners not doing what is best for their constituents and run for re-election should be kicked out of office.
When this issue came up in December, Commissioner Longoria agree with me when I question this new taxes on parking for the people who go downtown? Mr. Gonzales our planning joker said, "other cities have higher rates than Brownsville?" The question is, that other cities are using their revenes better than Brownsville. The mayor and five commissioners are thinking on how to spend this new income without telling the taxpayers who is going to make big bucks for themselves? This new income will produce one million dollars more and yet our tarffic department cannot fix the lights? The mayor and commissioners don't care what we say, It's a done deal and their fall from their seats in the next election is coming.
Post a Comment