VENDOR COSTS BISD $2.4 MILLION, BOARD HIRES FIRM AGAIN

"The people will live on.

The learning and blundering people will live on.

They will be tricked and sold and again sold.

And go back to the nourishing earth for rootholds....

This old anvil laughs at many broken hammers.

There are men who can't be bought..."

From: "The People, Yes," by Carl Sandburg

By Juan Montoya

Each time a new candidate or an elected official seeks reelection, they promise to represent the voters and to look out for their interests.

Catchwords like "accountability" and "transparency" bounce like ping pong balls against the candidate debate chambers, and the walls echo with the beating of palms against chests as gestures of truthfulness. and when someone gets appointed to a aboard they, too, promise to represent the interests of "the people."

But recent events and performances of some local boards has shown all too plainly that the promises were just for show. We'll take a look at but a few recent examples to illustrate this.

BISD board ignores $2.4 million tax revenue loss

Keeps vendor who failed to file tax audits

By a tied 3-3 vote, BISD board members approved the continuation of the delinquent tax collection contract to Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, LLP who will remain as the district's collector despite undisputed documentation that they failed to file taxable value audits with the Texas Comptroller's Office for the years 2011-2014 that resulted in the loss of some $2.4 million to the district.

At that meeting, even the administration staff confirmed that the audits had cost the district money, to no avail.

The votes on a motion before the board to award the contract to Linebarger competitor Perdue, Brandon, Fielder, Collins and Mott LLP broke down this way:

Yes: Drue Brown, Prisci Roca-Tipton and Minerva Pena

(Brown made the motion and Roca-Tipton provided the second.)

Nay: Phil Cowen, Laura Reyes-Perez and Eddie Garcia

The agenda item read: 6. Recommend approval of RFQ #20-127 for Delinquent Ad Valorem Tax Attorney Services. Contract will be for one year beginning June 16, 2020, with the option to renew.

That means Linebarger - who held the contract - will work on a month-to-month basis because they were not chosen to get the contract.

Several people present at the meeting say they overheard Linebarger representative John Guevara met Perez-Reyes at the foot of the administration building's elevator and was giving her talking points on how to argue against changing firms. She did.

With the tie at 3-3, Linebarger stays on the contract by default.

And despite admitting that their "complete" company had failed to file the necessary audits and admitting they had lost money for the district, the three trustees who voted against changing firms had different reasons for their votes.

But it was the justifications for the vote that spoke volumes.

Perez-Reyes said it wasn't Linebarger's fault that they had not filed the audits and blamed the previous administrations and boards for not asking the firm to perform and submit them to the Texas Comptroller's Office. Before her change of heart, it was Perez-Reyes who had the item tabled so the board could look into the lost $2.4 million.

Eddie Garcia said that it was "not the right" time to change firms, but did not explain when the right time might be. Perhaps losing another $2.4 million?

But the most disingenuous argument was from Cowen who in the past has stated that he would only vote against Linebarger if they messed up royally.

With $2.1 million lost, one would think that would be enough for anyone to live like a king for a while, if that's what he meant by "royally."

Both Pena and Garcia's terms end this November when elections will be held. Garcia, the cop, was said to have been appointed to keep the board - with two trustees who ran afoul of the law and one removed and the other prevented by a judge's order from representing their constituents - on the straight and narrow. Fat chance.

His sister, Gabby Garcia, is now in a runoff rae with Helen Delgadillo for the 138th District Court. Did that ply a role in his vote on behalf of Linebarger?

Was Pena afraid that giving away the district's money will draw opponents out of the woodwork? Cowen, with his usual panache, apparently doesn't care.

Perez-Reyes is on the ballot for Cameron County District Clerk and she probably isn't too worried about her Republican opponent in November and could care less about the district once she leaves it.

And then, of course, there are those future political contributions.

The learning and blundering people will live on...

Next: At TSC, a staff member turns a blind eye to obvious conflict of interest