It took two years for members of the City of Brownsville commission to run off Mario Lozoya, the Toyota USA Hispanic wonderkid who was CEO of the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation under the excuse that something was wrong with certain land purchases under his watch.
When Lozoya was hired in 2018, commissioner Nurith Galonsky, then a GBIC board member, – with the aid of city commissioner Ben Neece – sued in district court trying to overturn the choice. She and others were against his hiring but didn't have the votes to determine who was hired. They lost and non-suited. Since then, the city's worst kept secret is that they were after his head.
The commissioners voted "to authorize special counsel to initiate and pursue a Rule 202 discovery petition on behalf of the City of Brownsville to secure further factual information pertaining to certain real estate transactions completed by GBIC identified in the City Auditor’s Report presented on November 3, 2020."
They then summarily removed all the GBIC board members under a cloud of suspicion over supposedly "shady" land transactions. They were Pedro E. Cardenas, Sandra Duran, Esteban Guerra, Dennis Sanchez, Nico Schaefer, Graham Sevier-Schultz, chair, and Jason Wolfe.
The commission – at the urging of commissioners Galonsky again seconded by Neece – voted to terminate Lozoya's contract and gave him a $350,000-plus golden parachute to exit the scene. But despite the fact that the entire board of the GBIC was axed under a cloud of suspicion and the city commission took over the reins of the GBIC an audit of the land purchases turned up nothing amiss.
The audit conducted by CPA Patrick J. Zachinni said all three supposedly shady transactions by Lozoya and the GBIC were done "at arms length."
"Based on our review procedures, nothing came to our attention to indicate the purchase of land was not at arm's length or that was in any way a transaction between related parties. We have no knowledge or information that would suggest that the price paid for the purchase of the three tracts of land was significantly at variance with market value..."
They replaced Lozoya with Assistant City Manager Helen Ramirez, brought on board by City Manager Noel Bernal. And she is not cheap, at a $195,000 salary, second only to Bernal's $225,000 salary.
Her accomplishments so far? Like Bernal, she has a penchant for consultants ($976,420 so far for Bernal) and got the city commission to approve a contract between space port consultant Space Channel from Los Angles, California at $450,000.
We were under the impression that the GBIC was there to bring jobs for local residents, not to hire people from outside and pay them nearly a half-million dollars without any guarantee that their work will be successful. Apparently, there is a new mindset at city hall.
The new mindset is that money is no object. And that jobs for local residents has taken a back seat on their list of priorities for economic development.
28 comments:
Another Gowen failure!! you can Also add PUB, and Bike paths that people hardly use oh yea now the boca chica WALL!!
The COB city manager Bernal is out of Alignment! Pendejo is worst than Cabler and Elizondo put together! Hahahaha!
McAllen mayoral candidates discuss housing, poverty during Builders luncheon
Here they discuss amongst themselves what opportunities "THEY NOW HAVE" to open businesses and to hire all their families and friends at the city or county or pub or even at the port con ese coco idiota.
To continue to be numero uno on the national list that nobody wants to be on re-elect them again...
Brownsville has no history of successful Big time recruitment of major companies. Paying big salaries to people may get good people, but the city's image of being a dirt-poor bordertown with everybody on food stamps likely dooms it to being played.
Rio Grande Valley employers forever moan that the RGV labor force is unreliable. The work ethic is not there with locals. Welfare is to blame, but try and get people off it.
You cannot have a "mindset" if the mind is not there. Noel Bernal, former city manager of Falfurrias, is strictly minor league material. Helen and his other City Hall cohorts are playing Brownsville.
But it will get worse. One of these days Brownsville will hire Melissa Zamora as City Manager.
You read it here first.
LOCAL BLOGGER WANTS TV SITCOM TO BE CANCEL
ABC CROSSES LINE INTO WORLD OF DISINFORMATION CONCERNING COVID AND SHOULD CANCEL THEIR SITCOM "THE CONNERS."
Local blogger stated, "It was blatant disinformation concerning Covid, and ABC should cancel the show and apologize to the American people.
A new cast member enters the factory floor where Darlene works, [middle female.] He takes off his mask and says "it is okay I have been vaccinated." Darlene says "okay" and then takes off her mask." BV 4/17/2021
However, Texas Senator Ted Cruz suggested he will no longer wear a mask in the U.S. Capitol or on the Senate floor now that he's been vaccinated for COVID-19 and the local blogger has yet to bitch about it.
Local Blogger fails to ask for the Senator's resignation or an apology to the American people.
I like the spaceport idea. Would Starbucks come in for that? Toyz R Us? Nike shoes? BBQ 1848? Capt. Bob? La Vaquita? Walmart?
ja ja ja
Pipedream.
City manager's salaries and that of his five assistants are way too much much for a city like Brownsville. Besides, why so many assistants? Why outsource services that are costing tax payers hundreds of thousands of dollars for work they should be doing. Only in Brownsville.
We need a rice business. You know, bags of rice. It's central to the Mexican diet, man. Plus, I like rice. It's great for when you’re hungry and you want 2000 of something.
Esta bien pendeja esa ruca! Y ese Noel con el nopal en la frente se cree gringo. Pobre vato!
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Brownsville City Officials are all here to make money for themselves. Look at Trey, all about his downtown businesses. Look back 10 years, 20 years... nothing has changed. City streets are full of pot holes, many business locations vacant, corrupt politicians with no vision but for their pockets. We need to get all these consultants for what? Look at Mcallen is always and will always be the phrase for Brownsville. Look at the School District, all you hear about is corruption, employees drinking on the job or sleeping!
It has always been easy to spend OPM (OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY).
Omar Lucio for Brownsville Police Chief!
Pinche Vegetable Biden on Saturday was golfing in Delaware, while he finally after much pressure, admitted that there is a crisis at the borders. Instead of playing golf, he should be visiting the fuking borders! Where's the llorones who complained when Trump would go golfing! All you hear from them ojetes are crickets! Que mamones! Enjoy your blood clots and the "now you need three" vaccine bullshit! hahahaha!
All this dealings are just plain love affairs and with taxpayers money. He brings all his girl friends from up north and now they are giving consulting contracts to their new boy friends. All these abuses has got to stop.
New city commissioners need to be elected the ones there now are completed incompetent and need to be replaced.
“Every time I turn around, I’m paying a new tax for permits, a myriad of licenses, health permits, higher property taxes that are passed on and on and on. We paytaxes to the following: THERE ARE "52" taxing entities IN CAMERON COUNTY THINK ABOUT THAT!!!!!!!
Instead of fixing problems like potholes, flooding traffic jams, red lights at every light, needless pet projects that the city does not need.
Bringing incompetent employees with their girl friends and can't do the job so they hire consultants. A ONE MILLION BUDGET FOR A DEPARTMENT OF 5 EMPLOYEES ONLY. MILLIONS ON CONSULTING FEES. Hiring their friends on all boards without any experience.
THIS NEEDS TO STOP NOW DON'T RAISE TAXES FIRE YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS AND CONSULTANTS ALL OF YOU ELECTED OFFICIALS NEED TO BE REPLACED NOW...
How the hell does the City allow a former Fire Thief Carlos Elizondo to run for City Commission while still facing a court date for stealing PAC funds?
Are we stupid or something?
April 17, 2021 at 1:26 PM
Yes and you forgot sylvia
Love affairs are turning into contracts for boy friends that work for consulting firms. Those northern girl friends that he brought over here are in charge of hiring consulting firms there is no shame knowing that those funds should have been use for very important projects such as pothole maintenance flooding maintenance traffic maintenance bike trail maintenance but they need to hear it from the consultants at a million dollars cost. Any citizen here knows that but they are not consultants
The poorest city in the nation gets screwed AGAIN!
OUT OF TOUCH CITY ELECTED OFFICIALS NEED TO BE REPLACED DO NOT VOTE FOR ANY OF THEM
Minnesota Is One of the Best Places to Live in America. Unless You’re Black.
Here is one of the worst places to live UNLESS YOU ARE AN ELECTED OFFICIAL with their families and friends - everybody else is in poverty...
The salaries of these bozos should reflect the salary of its citizens not of Dallas or NYC. Starting at 17.50 an hour to the assistants at 7.25 federal minimum. THAT'S WHAT EVERYBODY HERE MAKES regardless of education and experience and NO consultants.
If they don't like it don't hire them FIRE them and stick with the consultants ONLY.
San Bene can hire them they can afford them, all of them, all 5 assistant city managers
NO SHAME WOW a million dollar department and only 5 people NO TIENEN VERGUENZA UTTERLY SHAMELESS
THE WHOLE CITY COMMISSION SHOULD RESIGN NOW!!!
NO TIENEN VERGUENZA UTTERLY SHAMELESS RESIGN NOW
April 17, 2021 at 11:30 PM
Crooks protecting crooks that's how. CROOKS GONE WILD!
Only in Brownsville Texas the poorest town in the good old USofA.
Pues de andode salen tanta viejas que se vallan patras pa la cantinas uuy uuuy uuuy pasa la tequila y pronto pinches viejas
Asking for directions: Brownsville seeks input on sidewalk/trails plan
Side walks are more important vote this lady out she needs to go
Boa de mamones they all need to get fired
An online survey had already garnered 552 responses as of April 14, and the Mary Yturria Center at the Historic Brownsville Museum, 641 E. Madison St., will host a community open house April 21-22 from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. to collect public input.
Must attend to stop all these abuses about bike trails NOBODY USESE THEM STOP THE INCOMPETENCE VOTE HER OUT...
Someone get helen a phone...she don't return calls. Give me her salary, i'll return calls.
Why have city managers/assistants when everything is being done by consultants. Waste of taxpayers monies.
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