CAREER COB EMPLOYEES: NO CONFIDENCE IN CM RAMIREZ

LETTER OF NO CONFIDENCE

July 2023

Dear Mayor and members of the city commission:

This letter has received input from many employees of the City of Brownsville and from all levels. We represent the finance department, engineering, legal, airport, and the city manager's office.

Our city has seen many changes in the past five (5) years since the departure of Mr. Charlie Cabler to the hiring and exiting of of former City Manager Mr. Noel Bernal.

We have seen good directors and city attorneys come and go, but what we have now is an inexperienced city manager in Helen Ramirez, a CFO from the Dallas area, and a weak legal department actually headed by deputy Jennifer M. Avandado, and not by City Attorney Will Treviño.

It seems that the current city administration is attempting to dismantle all the good city departments one by one. The airport, for example, is is a mess with no direction and an absentee director who pulls in a nice $132,600 salary. His wife, in the city manager's office, pulls in another $140,000.

The legal department headed by Avedano is a major catalyst and willing facilitator in protecting the actions of city manager Ramirez who commits one poor decision after another.

Michael Delmore – at $184,000 – does not understand our city or our culture. and his people skills are dismal and his attitude and actions toward city employees are unprofessional. He fails to understand that the majority of work that is being performed is done by support staff and a few professional who truly care about their city. Employees are intimidated and afraid to speak up at the risk of being silenced or terminated. (It's a management culture of fear and retaliation)

Our legal department is backed up reviewing contracts and other materials and this inefficiency stifles their work. Again, one cannot complain for fear of reprisals.

Many of us observed and waited cautiously for former mayor Trey Mendez and the city commission to recruit an experienced city manager and only one commissioner publicly stated that Helen Ramirez was not ready for the position of city manager.

As employees of th city and residents we see firsthand the mismanagement of BTX Fiber, of the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation (BCIC), the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation (GBIC), the audit reports detailing questionable decisions and due diligence failures that result in the pilferage of public funds with little or no measurable benefit to our city or our fellow citizens. What is being done to correct these terrible issues?

(In fact, it was Ramirez's abject performance as CEO and Executive Director which led to the compliance audit that revealed that it was under her watch that companies were allowed to receive incentives in the $100,000s based on their self-reporting of their track records and bona fides. That money is long gone and not one good-paying job for our city residents was created. Instead, Ramirez was rewarded with being made city manager.) 

Chief Felix Sauceda seems to be the only professional at the top level who is respectful of all COB employees.

Remember we all live here and have to bear the services of our city. Eventually, Ramirez will return to California,  the CFO  will go back to Dallas, Avedano and Treviño will obtain other jobs in other cities. 

Please consider the loyalty and work of all the city employees as you perform your public service tenure and do the right thing for all our residents, and not only for a few.

Sincerely,

COB Employees