UNITED BROWNSVILLE GOES A BEGGING TO TSC AGAIN

By Juan Montoya
Just days after its President was told that he didn't understand how education was funded in the Texas Legislature, the shadow government called United Brownsville is back to ask for its annual $25,000 "membership" fee.
The begging for alms for Texas Southmost College's $25,000 of the $200,000 annually given to the nonprofit by eight publicly-funded entities will take place this Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at the Gorgas Board Room, 80 Ft. Brown.
It was none other than State Rep. Rebe Oliveira – who has not been hesitant to give UTB and Julieta Garcia everything she wanted – who told United Brownsville President that although the organization's legislative agenda was "ambitious," the line items dealing with educational outlays were off mark.
When Gonzales asked about the items that TSC had requested through United Brownsville for this biennium, he was schooled by Oliveira, the state rep fifth in seniority in the House, on the way the sausage was made in Austin. He told Gonzales that those types of requests aren't typically handled by the the legislature.
He said Rep Jimmie Aycock, head of the House committee on public education had turned him down saying: "If I do it for you, I have to do it for every junior college."
And for this TSC is paying the taxpayer's money to United Brownsville to "have a seat at the table?"
Each year, this organization has wormed its way deeper and deeper into the local political scene, not only with their protection racket, but also with taking over the purview of elected bodies and representatives.
These entities – as we have pointed out before – are: the City of Brownsville, the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation (GBIC), the Brownsville Independent School District, the Brownsville Navigation District, the Brownsville Public Utilities Board, the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation (BCIC) and the University of Texas-Brownsville/Texas Southmost College."
Since 2009, this group and their willingly co-opted public officials have gone to the public-treasury well to strong-arm eight public entities for their $25,000 "annual membership" payment.
From 2009 to 2012 the public had shelled out $810,000. That doesn't include the $200,00 from 2013 and the $200,000 to be collected for 2014. All told, the taxpayers of Brownsville will have shelled out $1,210,000 to United Brownsville for the privilege of having a troika accountable to no one "implement" their dubious "plan.
Add in another $200,000 for 2015, and the racket continues.

The aim is for this cadre of players to decide how they want the area to develop and to move the public assets to achieve their goals. Being astute (and scheming) business types, it is not surprising that the direction the area's assets are being moved will ultimately profit them and their friends.
An audit by Long and Chilton audit indicates that United Brownsville has done very well, indeed, living off the public's largess.
The audit lists their cash and money market "value" at $102,610. That's a nice little nest egg compliments of the poorest community in the United States.
We were taught in school that the people elected public officials to act on their behalf in the various levels of government. These officials, in turn, were held accountable for their acts.
You cannot fire Rusteberg, Garcia or Downing. Ultimately, this trio and their supportive players on the board of United Brownsville that includes a select number of hand-picked, like-minded social climbers who are members of the city commission, the port, PUB, the university and college, and the economic development entities shuffle the cards and deal themselves a wining hand every time.
The nonprofit shadow government of United Brownsville has as its purpose "to provide a forum for local governmental officials to communicate regarding public projects, and public-private partnerships in the greater Brownsville area, thereby promoting the effectiveness of said projects and thereby lessening the burdens of government.."

Gonzales was "moderating" the legislative update attended by Oliveira and Stet Rep. Eddie Lucio III.
Who elected Gonzales? No one.
And who elected the members of the United Brownsville Coordinating Board (IBC President Fred Rusteberg, UTB president Juoieta Garcia and UTB VP Irv Downing)? No one.
So how is it that they can go around "moderating" legislative sessions, directing the economic development of the city, and forging obligatory alliances with Harlingen and Matamoros?
Ostensibly, the mission of the self-styled coordinating board is to "lessen the burdens of elected officials."
But did anyone ask those elected officials if they wanted their "burdens" lessened? If they didn't want the burden of governing, then why run for office and abdicate from the positions of public representation for which they ran and for which they were elected by the consent of the governed?
This "United Brownsville" charade has become an embarrassment for the city. Since when have Rusteberg and Garcia looked out for the welfare of all the residents of this city? Never.
If anything, they have looked out for their own interests and those that cling to their coat tails hoping to gain social acceptance or a few crumbs off the table after the Big Boys' banquet on public funds.
The TSC board can do everyone a favor – including United Brownsville – by letting everyone know that those $25,000 can better be used to perform their mission: to educate the students and to shake off parasite organizations which have nothing to show for the millions they have taken from the city.