THE CITY-PUB SHELL GAMES: WE ARE RICH, RICH, I TELL YOU!

Special to El Rrun-Rrun

Thanks to the infusion of $65 million in pandemic relief money the city was allocated through the Biden administration’s American Rescue Plan and a 20 percent increase surge in sales tax and in sales-tax revenue thanks to federal relief funding, tax credits, and other factors, the City of Brownsville is flush with cash to the tune of an unassigned fund balance of $52.1 million.

So instead of having 90 days’ worth of expenses in case of loss of revenue, the city currently has a 167-day reserve, compared to a 91-day reserve at the end of fiscal year 2021, city manager Noel Bernal told an audience of the local chamber of commerce.

And although he didn't say it, among those $52 million are included an additional $20 million transfer from the Brownsville Public Utility Board, double the usual $13 million in cash and utilities it transfers annually.

That was because the PUB sold energy in the open market during the hard three-day freeze a year ago February and the continuing artificial increase in utility rates that was to pay for the failed Tenaska natural gas-fueled electric power plant that was supposed to generate 800 megawatts.

The result? The city and PUB raked in the hard cold cash while residents – including the elderly and children – huddled under their blankets to stave off the cold.

"PUB only wanted to give us an additional $5 million," said a city administrator, "But the city insisted on $20 million and they did."

It's ironic that PUB agreed to the increase in the transfer since PUB CEO told the city commissioners that returning to the pre-Tenaska rates might result in no cash transfer to the city. Instead – and this is par for the course with these utility gurus – the federal funds and high rates doubled the transfer, so no one is complaining about reducing the rates.  

In 2013, city commissioners approved a 10 year tax abatement with the Nebraska-based energy company. The plan was for the city to cover a portion of the cost of a $500 million and 800 megawatt natural gas-fired power plant.

According to the city-Tenaska agreement, BPUB would cover roughly $300 million and get 200 megawatts. Tenaska would cover the other $200 million and keep 600 megawatts. A sweet deal for Tenaska any way you slice it.

The agreement between Tenaska and BPUB failed in 2017 after the company asked the city to accept a termination agreement, but Brownsville residents are still paying more in their electric bills.

“The amount of Revenue that is directly attributed to the Tenaska rate increases is upwards of 80 million.” said city manager Noel Bernal.

Actually, the amount was more like $130 million, a city audit found. After termination of the Memorandum Of Understanding between the city and Tenaska, the city was left holding right-of-way property all the way to Hidalgo County that was to carry natural gas lines here.

All told, there was only $29 million left of the pot when PUB CEO John Bruciak came before the city commission, and he suggested that it could be used for LED lighting in the city to be administered by...PUB, of course.

“We’re being prudent and avoiding debt and using cash on hand to fund a lot of our needs: fleet, facilities, heavy equipment, things of that sort,” Bernal told the Brownsville Herald.

The daily reports that the city is cash-funding this and other priorities to the tune of $16.8 million. Among those expenditures is $4.1 million to replace the city’s aging fleet of heavy equipment used for street maintenance and repair, $4 million for high-priority facilities needs based on the results of a comprehensive, citywide facilities assessment, and $1.4 million for traffic signal synchronization.

Why didn't they get it right the first time?

Other big-ticket items include replacing downtown’s water and wastewater infrastructure, which will cost $14 million and support the revitalization of downtown, a key economic driver for the city, Bernal told the paper.

(Sure about that Noel? Anyone who takes a walk downtown with entire blocks of vacant stores and shuttered shops would beg to differ.)

Those funds will come out of the $65 million in pandemic relief money the city was allocated through the Biden administration’s American Rescue Plan, he said.

The ARP funding will also pay for, among other things, expanding broadband internet access across the city ($19.5 million), building a regional detention facility for water  (in plain English, a retaining lake ) at Veterans International Bridge at Los Tomates to address flooding ($11.5 million), building the West Rail Trail earlier than anticipated ($8.8 million), and revamping infrastructure at Gladys Porter Zoo ($5.5 million).

And after all these projects have been funded is there any utility rate decrease for the PUB rate payers that are shouldering the load for the piss-poor utility managers at PUB and the continued pouring of more than $20 million in public funds into the hike and bike trails that are rarely used by the general public but heralded as a "active " tourist attraction that might draw visitors and their money sometime in the distant (and nebulous)  future.

So pay your artificially high utility bills so that these bikers and zoo visitors can romp with gusto at your expense. We're rich, I tell you. Rich! Rich!