For as long as anyone can remember, the Brownsville Economic Development Council recruited and vetted all companies that wanted to come to Brownsville to set up business and reviewed their applications to recommend whether or not they would receive monetary incentives from the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation.
If the 33-member board – actually the 10-member executive board – approved its staff recommendations, the companies would get generous financial incentives from the GBIC totalling millions on the promise that they would bring good-paying jobs for local residents.The GBIC was set up as a non-profit corporation as established in accordance with the Texas Development Corporation Act of 1979, on February 24, 1991. The board's purpose was to purchase land, buildings and equipment and to provide incentives to the local industries.
The BEDC signed contracts with the GBIC totaling more than $5 million for each three-year period to review and vet these companies for the incentives.
But the BEDC's track record –and that of its former CEO Jason Hilts and his VP Gilbert Salinas – left much to be desired. This year, the GBIC, which had three city commissioners – now two, Jessica Tetreau and Cesar de Leon – decided that they had had enough of throwing good money after bad and did not renew the contract with the BEDC.
Instead, they decided to hire their own executive director, recruit a new staff of company recruiters, and vet prospective firms with its own committee. The recent resignation of former commissioner Deborah Portillo after she decided not to seek reelection, left the board with one vacancy. At the last city commission meeting, the nomination of local businessman Steve Guerra died as a result of tie after De Leon and Tetreau decided they wanted to seek a legal opinion on whether they – as GBIC members and city commissioners – could vote without a conflict of interest.
Salinas has been filling the slot as interim CEO at the GBIC.
Then, with the media and the public's attention diverted – at least temporarily – by the controversy surrounding the release of a recording where De Leon is heard using racial slurs, the filling of the empty slot has been thrown in the air.
Now, insiders say, the former BEDC board members and Mayor Tony Martinez, are seeing an opportunity to reestablish their control of the money flow and wrest it from the GBIC board. with access to the annual $5 million from its quarter-cent share of the city's annual sales tax receipts, they will be able once again to wrest control of the funds and direct the economic development (or non-development, as the case may be) in the city.
Already, Martinez and the city commission financial planners want to "borrow" millions from the GBIC to fund the debt accrued by the city to build the new airport terminal building. However, they have not revealed how many permanent well-paying jobs will result from the spending of those GBIC funds will produce.
Hinojosa and Estrada, the city's financial consultants, the city commissioners were told that in order for the Brownsville-South Padre Island International Airport to build a new terminal, it might be necessary to get a $27.5 million "loan" from the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation to pay the airport terminal debt.
Under the financial consultants' ambitious Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan, the total fund needed to lengthen the runway and build a new terminal amounts to some $107 million. About $80 million would go for the runways and another $27 million for the new terminal. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has set aside $5 million for the terminal. Hinojosa and Estrada want the GBIC (and perhaps the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation, BCIC) to chip in $22 million.
Hinojosa-Estrada said that the money could be paid back when the airport (which has always been subsidized by the city budget) started producing revenues expected after the improvements. Not everyone was convinced that it would start to be a money maker, as the consultants averred.
Martinez and former BEDC members had hoped that the resignation of De Leon would give them the ability to appoint not only one, but two of their own (one of them rumored to be Nick Serafy, of Serafy Laboratories). But De Leon threw a monkey wrench in the works four days after he resigned by withdrawing his resignation letter from the city secretary and said he would remain on the commission and the GBIC board.
The BEDC members and Martinez are also fighting that the Price-Waterhouse forensic audit performed on their organization at the behest of the GBIC board will not be made public or handed to law enforcement for possible criminal prosecution. Stacking the board with their appointments would allow them to achieve this goal.
"No offense to Nick," said a city administrator, "but he is seen as the mayor's man who will take the GBIC back to the days when a economic and social elite stratum of the city – mostly Anglos – controlled the monies and dished out the funds to their friends. That obviously hasn't worked out to the benefit of the everyone in the city."
Before his resignation, former BEDC CEO Hilts had run roughshod with the monies – with apparent acquiescence from the BEDC board – paid under contract by the GBIC. After questions arose of his setting up of an office and staff in Colombia which did not produce one job for Brownsville residents after three years in operation, the BEDC closed it down.
But there were plenty of irregularities questioned even before the audit was performed. In one instance, Hilts was made a $5,000 "advance" which he then paid after it became known to GBIC board members.
"How can you advance $5,000 to one of your administrative staff and then have him pay it back when it became known?," asked the administrator. "It's these sort of things that caught people's attention that things weren't being done on the up and up over at the BEDC."
But the BEDC's track record –and that of its former CEO Jason Hilts and his VP Gilbert Salinas – left much to be desired. This year, the GBIC, which had three city commissioners – now two, Jessica Tetreau and Cesar de Leon – decided that they had had enough of throwing good money after bad and did not renew the contract with the BEDC.
Instead, they decided to hire their own executive director, recruit a new staff of company recruiters, and vet prospective firms with its own committee. The recent resignation of former commissioner Deborah Portillo after she decided not to seek reelection, left the board with one vacancy. At the last city commission meeting, the nomination of local businessman Steve Guerra died as a result of tie after De Leon and Tetreau decided they wanted to seek a legal opinion on whether they – as GBIC members and city commissioners – could vote without a conflict of interest.
Salinas has been filling the slot as interim CEO at the GBIC.
Then, with the media and the public's attention diverted – at least temporarily – by the controversy surrounding the release of a recording where De Leon is heard using racial slurs, the filling of the empty slot has been thrown in the air.
Now, insiders say, the former BEDC board members and Mayor Tony Martinez, are seeing an opportunity to reestablish their control of the money flow and wrest it from the GBIC board. with access to the annual $5 million from its quarter-cent share of the city's annual sales tax receipts, they will be able once again to wrest control of the funds and direct the economic development (or non-development, as the case may be) in the city.
Already, Martinez and the city commission financial planners want to "borrow" millions from the GBIC to fund the debt accrued by the city to build the new airport terminal building. However, they have not revealed how many permanent well-paying jobs will result from the spending of those GBIC funds will produce.
Hinojosa and Estrada, the city's financial consultants, the city commissioners were told that in order for the Brownsville-South Padre Island International Airport to build a new terminal, it might be necessary to get a $27.5 million "loan" from the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation to pay the airport terminal debt.
Under the financial consultants' ambitious Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan, the total fund needed to lengthen the runway and build a new terminal amounts to some $107 million. About $80 million would go for the runways and another $27 million for the new terminal. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has set aside $5 million for the terminal. Hinojosa and Estrada want the GBIC (and perhaps the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation, BCIC) to chip in $22 million.
Hinojosa-Estrada said that the money could be paid back when the airport (which has always been subsidized by the city budget) started producing revenues expected after the improvements. Not everyone was convinced that it would start to be a money maker, as the consultants averred.
Martinez and former BEDC members had hoped that the resignation of De Leon would give them the ability to appoint not only one, but two of their own (one of them rumored to be Nick Serafy, of Serafy Laboratories). But De Leon threw a monkey wrench in the works four days after he resigned by withdrawing his resignation letter from the city secretary and said he would remain on the commission and the GBIC board.
The BEDC members and Martinez are also fighting that the Price-Waterhouse forensic audit performed on their organization at the behest of the GBIC board will not be made public or handed to law enforcement for possible criminal prosecution. Stacking the board with their appointments would allow them to achieve this goal.
Before his resignation, former BEDC CEO Hilts had run roughshod with the monies – with apparent acquiescence from the BEDC board – paid under contract by the GBIC. After questions arose of his setting up of an office and staff in Colombia which did not produce one job for Brownsville residents after three years in operation, the BEDC closed it down.
But there were plenty of irregularities questioned even before the audit was performed. In one instance, Hilts was made a $5,000 "advance" which he then paid after it became known to GBIC board members.
"How can you advance $5,000 to one of your administrative staff and then have him pay it back when it became known?," asked the administrator. "It's these sort of things that caught people's attention that things weren't being done on the up and up over at the BEDC."
12 comments:
Juan,
I got through the first two paragraphs.
Either your 2 year old nephew, grandson whatever wrote it, your stoned or you have limited writing skills.
Secondly, the description of the process is wrong also. The BEDC did not give out any money to any company, thats not what the BEDC does.
I didn't read the rest of the article since I became frustrated trying to get through the first 2 paragraphs.
The first sentence was so long I got tired and couldn't read anymore. I'm gonna take a nap and get back to this. Hopefully later I can make a proper comment.
Anonymous at 1:12 speaking of limited writing skills ? The word you need is you're , not "your."
Who gives a hoot about the writing of this , the BEDC AND GBIC are rats of city. The airport is a waste of money and it's been losing money for ever. This is greed and been stupid by the city commissioners been so blind. What ever the people say about these problems that effect Brownsville will never be change. Brownsville the toilet of South Yexas.
Regardless of how it is written or the length, this is another failure of Mayor Tony Martinez to manage the city activities. All the failures list in the article about Charlie Cabler were caused by Tony Martinez and Charlie was left holding the bag....carrying the load for Tony. Tony seems to be running from his failures and is willing to have others take the blame for his poor management. Worst Mayor in my lifetime.
Hell worst Mayor in the history of BROWNSVILLE people who voted for this pencil pushing, power drunk are idiots with regrets I'm sure.
What will it take to get rid of the so-called Mayor Blue Jean Greneudo? As long as we let him, he will keep going in filling up his pockets and those of his friends and shoveling dirt on whomever was 'kissing his ass' in order to get ahead themselves. Tone, resign and be a big man like Tricky Dicky before someone figures out how to actually impeach you. For sure, come the next election, I strongly recommend that you not even contemplate running for mayor. Run in Matamoros, buey! Get out of town and I hope it is soon. You have made Brownsville a laughing stock of the whole valley and nation.
The airport's runway is long enough to land a 747. Why lengthen it?
OK I'm back. I got some rest and tried to read the story again. I did read enough to figure out this story is about the Brownsville airport. I didn't finish the story though because no one goes to the Brownsville Airport. If I had somewhere to fly to I don't think I would use the Brownsville airport because the planes are probably very old and still have propellers.
WORST CITY ADMINISTRATION EVER!
HOUSE OF CARDS IS TUMBLING DOWN SLOWLY BUT SURELY.
THE DOG ATE THE STASH!
Anonymous at 1:12 speaking of limited writing skills ? The word you need is you're , not "your."
dude really, skills? without space! you're, without space.
you are on the path of learning. LOL
Diego, if you really cared for your family you would stop posting your juvenile comments . Your parents are embarrassed and Jack hates you! Grow up, pendejo !
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