By Juan Montoya
The web of incredulity surrounding the three Las Vegas bound court bailiffs has just gotten even more unbelievable.
On Tuesday, 38th District Court bailiff Joel Garcia, County Court-At-Law #3's bailiff Leofredo Peña, and 103rd District Court bailiff Jose C. Garza got a conditional approval to travel to Las Vegas to receive what they called "mandatory legislative training" on court room security.A grudging court approved their travel with only Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño voting against saying he didn't want to "open the floodgates" for other county employees having county taxpayers pay for their travel and hotel accommodations in the gambling mecca.
"I don't want to 'send the wrong message' to county taxpayers by sending county workers to Las Vegas," Treviño said.
Pct. 3 commissioner David Garza made the motion to approve the funding of the trip as long as they could prove that they would be used for training hours
credit.
Well, now it has come to light that the courses that are offered by the firm Legal Liability and Risk Management Institute on October 21-24 when the three bailiffs will attend not only do not deal with court security, but are not "mandated legislatively" for court bailiffs.
As a result, neither training supervisor Pct. 2 Constable Abel Gomez or the training officer with the Cameron County Sheriff's Dept. say they cannot be submitted for training credit with the Texas Commission on Law enforcement.
"Those courses are not mandatory," Gomez said. "I can't submit them for training credit for them because they won't get it."
Originally, the training was touted as"active shooter" training by Cameron County Asst. D.A. ,Rene Garza, who then deferred to bailiff Garcia who told the commissioners they had not been "invited" to attend court security training by Gomez who held it recently at Texas Southmost College at a $30 fee.
"We are treated like the red-haired stepson," Garcia complained to the commissioners.
But a review of the training offered from October 21-24 have nothing to do with court security at all. Below is the itinerary listed on LLRMI's training courses in Las Vegas those three days.
The courses offered in Las Vegas by LLRMI during the time the three bailiffs will be there do not deal with court security and instead deal with homicide in investigation, law enforcement supervision, internal affairs, and loss control.
None of those courses, Gomez, confirmed, are mandatory for court bailiffs and they can't be submitted for training credits in Texas.
"They might be made to reimburse the county for the cost of going and staying in Las Vegas," he said.
So if there are no court security courses during that time, and the courses that are being offered are not mandatory and cannot be used as training credits for court bailiffs, why should county taxpayers foot the bill to give these three employees a nice vacation at their expense after having had their property taxes raised by the county?
Is this what the property tax increase was for?
14 comments:
I though the Court Room Bailiffs were not commissioned peace officers and were not required to complete TCOLE training hours?????? I though that there was a memorandum of understanding among the Commissioner's Court, the Courthouse Judges, the Constable and the head of the Bailiffs????? These bailiffs have no civil service protection according to county rules and regulations which mean they do not fit in the same category of Sheriff Deputies, Constables and County Park Rangers??????? Bailiffs' work at the pleasure of their judges and are At Will employees??????? Why should I be paying taxes for training for these guys when they are not peace officers and especially taking a trip to Las Vegas on tax payers dollars on some course that has nothing to do with courthouse security???? In that case, put me on the list so I can go to Las Vegas to have fun toooooooooooo????
Me toooooo I wanna go where do I sign do I need a uniform, a badge, a pistola how about a horse and saddle? Oh I forgot how about a texas ranger hat????
agree 100 % with 9.15 am i want to go to. On the taxpayers dime of course. Where do i sign up?
Where is the list so I tooooo want to sign and go to las vegas and all expenses paid and take my 12 children and two wives and my grandma and a couple of cousins
What I want to sign is the cheese petition somebody start one and kick all these pendejos OUT.
They smell a super boondoggle opportunity.
Like aLWAYS THE PenDejos on the COmmissioners Court got taken for Ride on my dime! Hey Eddie Pendejo Longhorn!
let's all go
just pack a uniform and tell significant other its work related
LOOK OUT las vegas hay vienen los pobresitos y pendejitos pasa la tequila!!!!
ARE THEY GOING TO STOP AT LA SARITA CHECK POINT?? IF YES THAN I CAN'T GO NO GOTTIE PAPERS.
Hide in the closet no big deal I toooo wanna go where do I sign?
Juan honestly can you find out exactly how much taxpayers funds will be spent for each one of these bozos the clowns to go to Vegas? flight or mileage expense, hotel stay and per diem, meals etc. Taxpayers have a right to know how much this whole enchilada trip the county commissioners court approve and is costing the taxpayers-its only right.
Fred Pena is running for Constable and should know better than to get in the bad media for the public to see. Rookie Politician!!!
Juan check out Texas Cole conference in corpus this week, these Vegas courses are being offered here locally-no need to go to Vegas. Just say, coulded saved a ton of money. :)
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