Love her or hate her, former City of Brownsville commissioner and public relations maven Melissa Landin (formerly Zamora) has a way of landing on her feet after emerging from a controversy.
Landin - since July - was hired the Board of Aldermen to supervise City of Falfurrias departments, support maintenance of the city budget and to represent the municipality vis-a-vis community groups and state and federal governments.
This might be seen as a comedown from her previous positions as elected official and PIO for the Cameron County District Attorney's Office, public relations and marketing for the Community Development Corporation of Brownsville, administrator of marketing and communications for the RGV MultiBank, and before that Harlingen Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director, and
Communications Director for the South Padre Island Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Before that - and something she doesn't mention in her Linkedin resume - she was also a reporter for the Brownsville Herald.
Falfurrias is hardly a metropolis.
It had all of 6,200 souls in the llano of Brooks County as of 2010. It is about as far away from modern civilization as one would want to get. It is also the site where bodies of dead migrants are routinely found as they seek to avoid the Border Patrol checkpoint on US 281. It is 81 miles southwest of Corpus Christi, 90 miles southeast of Laredo, and 36 miles south of Alice.
Brownsville is 117 miles south as urraca flies.
As city administrator, she is responsible for overseeing nearly six (6) department and division managers, who supervise 50 employees. She is also responsible for the development of program and policy alternatives for consideration by the mayor and council, as well as the implementation of those policies and programs adopted by them.
Other responsibilities include meeting with private citizens, community groups, and public/private entities regarding city policies and programs.
One major responsibility is the formulation and administration of the City budget in order to assure a solid base and rationale for the allocation of funds and resources. And this year, the tax-poor city projects it will collect $470,173 in property taxes and work with a tourism fund of $73,000. Compare that with her claim that as vice president for promotions with Elite Promotions implemented a marketing plan that resulted in revenue of more than $350,000 dollars within 18 months.
For that matter, in her resume she lists that she managed the departmental budget of more than $500,000 while in Harligen with the HVCB.
As administrator, she is projecting that the 2020 budget she will administer will total $2.5 million.
When she left her position at the the office of the Cameron County District Attorney's Office she stated left for "personal advancement."
And she was at the Harlingen Convention and Visitors Bureau for only about a year before she was involved in a full-blown controversy. When she left the position of administrative assistant for then-
Cameron County Judge Carlos Cascos, she left under similar circumstances. Fellow staff members said she had demanded Cascos name her in charge of the office when he left town and that he had refused.
Harlingen City Manager Dan Serna told the Valley Morning Star that Melissa Landin was fired for “insubordination or other disrespectful conduct,” according to the city’s notice of termination. Serna told the paper that details of the firing were confidential and that he didn't "discuss personnel-related matters.”
The newspaper reported that city’s termination notice states Landin “refused to follow (Serna’s) instructions” on Jan. 17 for preparations for Mayor Chris Boswell’s State of the City address on Feb. 3. “You were confrontational and clearly stated your refusal to follow the directions of the city manager,” the notice states. “(T)his type of behavior is unacceptable at any level.”
The City of Harlingen administration had preciously allowed her to rescind a previous resignation, and that they had relented after she changed her mind and withdrew it. In the termination notice, Serna refers to Landin’s previous resignation.
“This is not the first time that this kind of behavior has happened,” the notice states. “Previously, you had resigned your position and later changed your mind. The city manager was willing to give you another opportunity to fit into the management team but the incident described above convinces me that this is not going to be possible.”
Landin was hired as PIO at a salary of $47,500 in January, 2016, and boosted her salary to $61,500 when she took the CVB executive director’s job about a month later. The Falfurrias city budget online does not state her salary, only that the total salaries in the department totaled $69,480 last year but jumped to $165,000 in the new budget yet to be adopted.
The city budget is, in every sense, a lean and mean document, and Landin herself says that some city employees performing in dual roles and volunteering their time to promote city events.
On the other hand, she still has time to get her certification for municipal management. If the success of past Falfurrias city administrators are any indication, there is some room for hope. It just so happens that before he came to Brownsville, that position was filled by Noel Bernal before he let to be the city manager and EDC director for the City of Pharr.
Good luck to her in her new endeavor.
One major responsibility is the formulation and administration of the City budget in order to assure a solid base and rationale for the allocation of funds and resources. And this year, the tax-poor city projects it will collect $470,173 in property taxes and work with a tourism fund of $73,000. Compare that with her claim that as vice president for promotions with Elite Promotions implemented a marketing plan that resulted in revenue of more than $350,000 dollars within 18 months.
For that matter, in her resume she lists that she managed the departmental budget of more than $500,000 while in Harligen with the HVCB.
As administrator, she is projecting that the 2020 budget she will administer will total $2.5 million.
When she left her position at the the office of the Cameron County District Attorney's Office she stated left for "personal advancement."
And she was at the Harlingen Convention and Visitors Bureau for only about a year before she was involved in a full-blown controversy. When she left the position of administrative assistant for then-
Cameron County Judge Carlos Cascos, she left under similar circumstances. Fellow staff members said she had demanded Cascos name her in charge of the office when he left town and that he had refused.
Harlingen City Manager Dan Serna told the Valley Morning Star that Melissa Landin was fired for “insubordination or other disrespectful conduct,” according to the city’s notice of termination. Serna told the paper that details of the firing were confidential and that he didn't "discuss personnel-related matters.”
The newspaper reported that city’s termination notice states Landin “refused to follow (Serna’s) instructions” on Jan. 17 for preparations for Mayor Chris Boswell’s State of the City address on Feb. 3. “You were confrontational and clearly stated your refusal to follow the directions of the city manager,” the notice states. “(T)his type of behavior is unacceptable at any level.”
The City of Harlingen administration had preciously allowed her to rescind a previous resignation, and that they had relented after she changed her mind and withdrew it. In the termination notice, Serna refers to Landin’s previous resignation.
“This is not the first time that this kind of behavior has happened,” the notice states. “Previously, you had resigned your position and later changed your mind. The city manager was willing to give you another opportunity to fit into the management team but the incident described above convinces me that this is not going to be possible.”
Landin was hired as PIO at a salary of $47,500 in January, 2016, and boosted her salary to $61,500 when she took the CVB executive director’s job about a month later. The Falfurrias city budget online does not state her salary, only that the total salaries in the department totaled $69,480 last year but jumped to $165,000 in the new budget yet to be adopted.
The city budget is, in every sense, a lean and mean document, and Landin herself says that some city employees performing in dual roles and volunteering their time to promote city events.
On the other hand, she still has time to get her certification for municipal management. If the success of past Falfurrias city administrators are any indication, there is some room for hope. It just so happens that before he came to Brownsville, that position was filled by Noel Bernal before he let to be the city manager and EDC director for the City of Pharr.
Good luck to her in her new endeavor.
14 comments:
Good for her! She shows the sort of drive few in Brownsville possess. But then she's from Pleasanton.
I believe it's "Melly," Juan.
Juan you know she is a trouble maker, but you never know noel bernal was in falfurrias too, so Brownsville watch out cuz here i come in the future 10 years from now? lol
Poor husband of hers. they just bought a new house and he just moved from Faulk to Vela Middle school to take Melissa kids to school with him. I guess Melissa only uses men for her advantage.
At least we are getting rid of her. What will Luis Saenz do Now? Will he follow her to Falfurrias? Only time will tell.
Who in their mind hire someone with multiple past unsuccessful employments? That is a red flag to begin with. Falfurrias must be desperate. Oh well, they’ll soon find out.
"Melly" is as crooked as a corkscrew. She is just as corrupt as the worst of them. She used her position to get Rene Oliviera out of a jam when he rear-ended a car on the frontage road near Cheedars. She is more corrupt than Rene or Luis Saenz.
I know the Landin family and they never bought a new house and Coach Landin never worked at Vela Middle School. Very sad that someone could be so hateful to make something like that up.
Luis Saenz is originally from Falfurrias.
From Pleasanton thru Hatesville she'll learn. buena suerte pretty one...
lets see how long she could be gone. we should throw a party by helping her pack and make sure she stays gone gone gone. She is not loyal to no one but the benjamins. no one is jealous of her. she understands the ability she has between her legs and her lips. She uses it well and has gotten her places. She is getting up there in age and she better take this last opportunity she has been given. I really do feel for her husband, having to leave his family in Brownsville,TX, his job as a coach, all the negative publicity he has endured over Melissa. At least in Falfurrias they don't know about her and she could put a woe over their eyes. that is until they find out the backstabbing person she really is. I'm sure the staff at the DA Luis Saenz office is celebrating right now with this news. No one could stand her.
She Came, She Saw, She Conquered
felicidades Melissa
That coat looks familiar I think I've seen it somewhere on the third floor but some county worker was wearing it.
Melissa has done a great work everywhere shes has been. Her work ethic is one of the very best that I have witnessed. She will work long hours without gettin paid to put out the best product she can. People love to gossip without knowing whats going on. The poor thing about this is people will post untruefull things on this site. As an employer I recommend that you dont use the information printed on this site for hiring or to recruiting, you will loose out on a good employee.
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