Meeting Report, April 30, 2007, Take 2
Another unpleasant meeting last night. I'm not sure how to describe it. I am going to give an abbreviated report. All I can say is "you had to be there."
I will say that the presentations from Ms. Campbell, Judge Ferguson and Mr. Pink were the highlights of the evening. They presented their material in a professional way that reminded the audience how things should be done.
The unpleasant tone was set last week when Sauceda cancelled a regular meeting. Council complained and questioned, but we were never told the reason for the so-called quorum crisis. Despite much talk, Sauceda never told us who was unavailable.
The disorganized state of the minutes created more tension before council could get to business. Minutes from seven months ago were presented along with recent minutes that council found replete with errors. Much tense talk followed by tabling.
No mayor's report because the mayor was absent. Again. Salgado filled in well as Mayor Pro Tem but had difficulty keeping the meeting on track with his peers.
Sauceda's report was out of touch with the serious reality of the situation at hand. He spoke of La Vista and Maafa and first impressions and picnics. He did not mention the audit or the long list of ORCA pool grant deficiencies.
Veronica Campbell gave a clear and crisp presentation on tax collection. Competent people really stand out these days.
Pam Harris did not present because Flo did not tell her that he called a special meeting late Friday evening. She did not have enough time to prepare given the lack of notice. She plans to present at the end of May.
Judge Ferguson gave an informative presentation on municipal court. Unfortunately, it was overshadowed by the timing of the later agenda item to reappoint her. Judge Ferguson was never reappointed at the beginning of her almost-expired term when Lanman took the reins. She continued by default. Council never asked her for an end of year report last September. So she presented a report on a year long past and a year half done. Following her report, Petrosky motioned to accept her report and reappoint her for another two years all in one fell swoop. Martinez, Petrosky and Rivera voted as a block all night long and voted to reappoint the judge. It is unfortunate that the new council is unable to start with a neutral position.
Mike Pink gave a very professional presentation, though I'm still a bit confused by some details of the total budget estimates. He shared lots of information about Marfa's wastewater system, historically, related to the current project, and in a larger picture. His detailed understanding of the situation and the possible solutions was reassuring. We have until the end of February 2009 to close on the loan, but the closing will take six months, so don't delay, he says. I have complete confidence in PSC's ability to do an excellent job. I have little confidence that the city can manage the administrative side of the project.
Council approved the excused medical absences of a BoA member. This only emphasized the poor track record of attendance and quorum records by council. It seems odd for council to be worrying about BoA when they have refused to address their own recent chronic attendance problems.
The RMA resolution passed after lengthy discussion. Council was not presented with a copy of the one-line resolution ahead of time.
The Humble sewer situation was a sad bit of poor preparation on both sides. While the situation has plenty of tricky issues, both sides are in basic agreement over how to resolve the matter. Despite multiple trips to council and private negotiations between Humble and Sauceda, they were unable to present a well-documented proposal for council to consider. Once again, material was distributed at the meeting that should have been in the packets. Even this information was insufficient to describe the deal. After much discussion to clarify the nature of the deal, both sides seemed close to agreement, only to have the opportunity slip away due to cantankerous attitudes from both sides and undisclosed additional perks for Humble. Sauceda serves council poorly by not presenting a coherent plan for their decision. With nothing in writing and not even all the details disclosed verbally, the situation tanked. Martinez pushed for caution and taking time to do it right. Item tabled.
Sauceda was told to negotiate with Humble and come back with a proposal for consideration. He came back with a bag of hot air and nothing in writing. Humble complained that this has been going on for eight months. This is a simple relocation of one sewer line through one block and possibly some preplanned sewer taps. Sauceda is completely unable to administer even this trivial project competently. Who has confidence that he can manage a $1.7M sewer project with maybe three miles of replaced sewer line and a totally new sewer plant? I don't. Do you?
Code enforcement grant. Tabled at Sauceda's request.
Recycling grant amendment, approved. Council agreed to the proposal to take the baler donated by Duncan Disposal and request to amend the grant to purchase a bigger truck and trailer with those funds.
SWTMG Bylaws: Approved I think, it was getting late by then.
Boys and Girls club business: ratified.
Appraisal district excess revenue: I lost interest when I realized the issue under consideration was $93. Isn't that less than Sauceda's soda budget?
Drug-free communities: Of course.
Housing authority request: Denied. No permanent waiver was granted. They are free to continue to request a waiver each year.
Breach of security: They got to this agenda item after 10 PM. It was resolved somewhere around 11PM after a disorganized attempt to rush into executive session improperly. Martinez strongly protested my request to provide a short description of my side of the story. Monte was sitting by the phone ($125 an hour) to give his opinions on a subject based on the judge's report of the event that failed to include even one conversation with me to clear up different versions that she heard. The final resolution was to pay our attorney to write me a letter to clarify the city's previously unclear policies (send me a copy of your billing while you are at it Monte) and drop the matter. It was a bit of unpleasantness all around.
The meeting adjourned with little sense of accomplishment at 11PM.
There was no discussion of the audit. Not one word. With only one meeting left, the council will not have time to review a preliminary version of the audit, request changes and then bring it back for approval. It would be irresponsible of them to leave office without taking care of their audit. It would be irresponsible for them to approve an audit without time to review it and ask for clarifications and changes. As I write this, I am realizing that this is part of the game. The last act of this council may be to rubber stamp an audit on May 8th that has not been given appropriate consideration given the financial shenanigans of the last year. Sauceda did not want to present anything now. Remember how Lanman and Sauceda conspired to wait until the last minute of the fiscal year to try and ram a poorly prepared budget down council's throat? This is exactly how Sauceda will try to dispense with the pesky audit. His three rubber stamps are lined up, inked and ready to go.
Council cares deeply about sewer taps. Council cares deeply about citizens responding to a request for technical help without proper procedures. Does council care about the audit of $2.5 million in expenditures and a poorly managed budget? Their silence last night indicates that they do not. If Martinez and Petrosky and Rivera want to wrap up their business neatly, they should call a special meeting to discuss the audit before it is presented for final approval. If they cannot bother to give it the attention it deserves, they should let the next council deal with it.
Once again, I want to acknowledge the professional presentations that reminded us of the look of competence. Sauceda should take note.
I will say that the presentations from Ms. Campbell, Judge Ferguson and Mr. Pink were the highlights of the evening. They presented their material in a professional way that reminded the audience how things should be done.
The unpleasant tone was set last week when Sauceda cancelled a regular meeting. Council complained and questioned, but we were never told the reason for the so-called quorum crisis. Despite much talk, Sauceda never told us who was unavailable.
The disorganized state of the minutes created more tension before council could get to business. Minutes from seven months ago were presented along with recent minutes that council found replete with errors. Much tense talk followed by tabling.
No mayor's report because the mayor was absent. Again. Salgado filled in well as Mayor Pro Tem but had difficulty keeping the meeting on track with his peers.
Sauceda's report was out of touch with the serious reality of the situation at hand. He spoke of La Vista and Maafa and first impressions and picnics. He did not mention the audit or the long list of ORCA pool grant deficiencies.
Veronica Campbell gave a clear and crisp presentation on tax collection. Competent people really stand out these days.
Pam Harris did not present because Flo did not tell her that he called a special meeting late Friday evening. She did not have enough time to prepare given the lack of notice. She plans to present at the end of May.
Judge Ferguson gave an informative presentation on municipal court. Unfortunately, it was overshadowed by the timing of the later agenda item to reappoint her. Judge Ferguson was never reappointed at the beginning of her almost-expired term when Lanman took the reins. She continued by default. Council never asked her for an end of year report last September. So she presented a report on a year long past and a year half done. Following her report, Petrosky motioned to accept her report and reappoint her for another two years all in one fell swoop. Martinez, Petrosky and Rivera voted as a block all night long and voted to reappoint the judge. It is unfortunate that the new council is unable to start with a neutral position.
Mike Pink gave a very professional presentation, though I'm still a bit confused by some details of the total budget estimates. He shared lots of information about Marfa's wastewater system, historically, related to the current project, and in a larger picture. His detailed understanding of the situation and the possible solutions was reassuring. We have until the end of February 2009 to close on the loan, but the closing will take six months, so don't delay, he says. I have complete confidence in PSC's ability to do an excellent job. I have little confidence that the city can manage the administrative side of the project.
Council approved the excused medical absences of a BoA member. This only emphasized the poor track record of attendance and quorum records by council. It seems odd for council to be worrying about BoA when they have refused to address their own recent chronic attendance problems.
The RMA resolution passed after lengthy discussion. Council was not presented with a copy of the one-line resolution ahead of time.
The Humble sewer situation was a sad bit of poor preparation on both sides. While the situation has plenty of tricky issues, both sides are in basic agreement over how to resolve the matter. Despite multiple trips to council and private negotiations between Humble and Sauceda, they were unable to present a well-documented proposal for council to consider. Once again, material was distributed at the meeting that should have been in the packets. Even this information was insufficient to describe the deal. After much discussion to clarify the nature of the deal, both sides seemed close to agreement, only to have the opportunity slip away due to cantankerous attitudes from both sides and undisclosed additional perks for Humble. Sauceda serves council poorly by not presenting a coherent plan for their decision. With nothing in writing and not even all the details disclosed verbally, the situation tanked. Martinez pushed for caution and taking time to do it right. Item tabled.
Sauceda was told to negotiate with Humble and come back with a proposal for consideration. He came back with a bag of hot air and nothing in writing. Humble complained that this has been going on for eight months. This is a simple relocation of one sewer line through one block and possibly some preplanned sewer taps. Sauceda is completely unable to administer even this trivial project competently. Who has confidence that he can manage a $1.7M sewer project with maybe three miles of replaced sewer line and a totally new sewer plant? I don't. Do you?
Code enforcement grant. Tabled at Sauceda's request.
Recycling grant amendment, approved. Council agreed to the proposal to take the baler donated by Duncan Disposal and request to amend the grant to purchase a bigger truck and trailer with those funds.
SWTMG Bylaws: Approved I think, it was getting late by then.
Boys and Girls club business: ratified.
Appraisal district excess revenue: I lost interest when I realized the issue under consideration was $93. Isn't that less than Sauceda's soda budget?
Drug-free communities: Of course.
Housing authority request: Denied. No permanent waiver was granted. They are free to continue to request a waiver each year.
Breach of security: They got to this agenda item after 10 PM. It was resolved somewhere around 11PM after a disorganized attempt to rush into executive session improperly. Martinez strongly protested my request to provide a short description of my side of the story. Monte was sitting by the phone ($125 an hour) to give his opinions on a subject based on the judge's report of the event that failed to include even one conversation with me to clear up different versions that she heard. The final resolution was to pay our attorney to write me a letter to clarify the city's previously unclear policies (send me a copy of your billing while you are at it Monte) and drop the matter. It was a bit of unpleasantness all around.
The meeting adjourned with little sense of accomplishment at 11PM.
There was no discussion of the audit. Not one word. With only one meeting left, the council will not have time to review a preliminary version of the audit, request changes and then bring it back for approval. It would be irresponsible of them to leave office without taking care of their audit. It would be irresponsible for them to approve an audit without time to review it and ask for clarifications and changes. As I write this, I am realizing that this is part of the game. The last act of this council may be to rubber stamp an audit on May 8th that has not been given appropriate consideration given the financial shenanigans of the last year. Sauceda did not want to present anything now. Remember how Lanman and Sauceda conspired to wait until the last minute of the fiscal year to try and ram a poorly prepared budget down council's throat? This is exactly how Sauceda will try to dispense with the pesky audit. His three rubber stamps are lined up, inked and ready to go.
Council cares deeply about sewer taps. Council cares deeply about citizens responding to a request for technical help without proper procedures. Does council care about the audit of $2.5 million in expenditures and a poorly managed budget? Their silence last night indicates that they do not. If Martinez and Petrosky and Rivera want to wrap up their business neatly, they should call a special meeting to discuss the audit before it is presented for final approval. If they cannot bother to give it the attention it deserves, they should let the next council deal with it.
Once again, I want to acknowledge the professional presentations that reminded us of the look of competence. Sauceda should take note.
posted by RobC at 12:26 PM
12 Comments:
If a person were to make a list of Things Needing Attention Not Discussed, Things Discussed Action Taken, Things Discussed No Action Taken, and Questions Asked But Not Answered from this meeting -- Amazing. Thank you, Rob.
Ah, just a little confused. Why will the attorney be writing a letter to you (a citizen) about the city's policy for request for technical help without proper procedures, and not to all of the city staff? I would think it is the city staff who would need to know proper procedure, not you.
What "the staff" should have done was call the city's computer guy but he sends a bill. So they ask good old Rob Crowley, who obviously has a great deal of technical experience out of the goodness of his heart to do it. When it comes back to bite him, I am mindful of King Lear, how sharper than a serpent's tooth is the bite of an ungrateful child.
Why is Monte Akers writing a letter to Rob? Because Flo can't write. And he can't read. And he can't cipher.
The bottom line of this entire situation is that the city needs to write some policies and clarify some responsibilities. It is a situation that had never been addressed before. It could have been handled better by all sides, mine included. Attempts to make it into a big deal suggest another agenda. Writing me a letter gives them the satisfaction of taking action. The next administration is way more tech savvy and might formulate a reasonable policy.
This just in....
the latest of the Mayor's lawsuits. Remember the Rembers? Well, now it is the Maldonados. The Mayor signed a permit for his "friends" as he told BOA, the Galleri Urbane across from Pancho's to build a fence and slab and various other construction. Even though the Mayor was told the gallery was two feet into the Maldonados property, he let them go ahead. Now filed in District Court against the Galleri Urbane by the Maldonados Cause no 7015. More to come.
That is so sad. The goal of CITY is to help neighbors get along by having fair rules. While it is difficult to determine what the mayor actually said or was told, the actions or inaction of the city can be verified in this case. If what you say is true, the city let the citizens down.
This present council is a fiasco-in-the making. I'm looking forward to the next administration and council. Seems like they'll be a smarter bunch.
I agree that the this meeting was one of the worst. The tone was sour from the start. Council members were cranky about the cancelled meeting. In hindsight, it is obvious that Flo decided to push through some controversial stuff at the second to last meeting.
Lanman has stated that he is done being mayor. He hasn't been to a council meeting since March 29th, I think. He has already cleaned out his office. Without him and without Rivera, the council was likely to split 2-2 on anything controversial. Sauceda saw that coming and wanted to make sure Rivera was there to swing the votes. Martinez did not like the meeting change, but he still voted with the other two retiring council members.
The big issues of course were the pre-emptive appointment of Judge Ferguson and the slap on the wrist for me and my eager attempt at help. Both votes passing 3-2. Humble's deal was another tricky one, but was ultimately tabled because Sauceda failed to present a coherent proposal to council to vote on.
My blog on the sorry state of the minutes may have had council on edge. Ultimately it is Sauceda's job to manage the minutes. Council trusted Sauceda. He let them down. The embarassment of the minutes fiasco reflected poorly on council and their ability to manage Sauceda. When the latest batch of minutes had lots of errors, Martinez let Sauceda have it.
Rivera and Petrosky have been very influential in their appointed seats following the resignations of Devine and Chavez. The two appointed members had no need to represent the voters and could do as they pleased. They were not elected and did not run for re-election--a volatile council composition.
But the underlying crankiness is that this council has been hampered by the mayor and administrator. I think the failure to pass a budget two years in a row sums up their ineffectiveness. Council can deal with a weak mayor or weak administrator. When both are ineffective, council is screwed.
I'm not trying to give them a pass. Nothing justifies the way this last meeting was handled.
I have a good vibe about the incoming council members and mayor. This council will have a good balance with the two solid council members that are continuing their terms. The administrator will continue to be the weak link in that chain.
Look for one more meeting of municipal charades. It's hard to imagine how Sauceda will top this meeting, but he never fails to surprise us with new lows.
Righteous article by Sterry in BBS illustrating Sauceda's underhanded tactics re Municipal Judge/Rob plus Leo's and Mary's willingness to cross him.
Oscar belated attempts to distance himself from Flo....but he still saddled us with the guy by voting for the new contract.
Pene and Oscar were seen having lunch at the Ft. Davis Drug Store this week.
Keep watching that other solid waste grant amendment he tabled last time. It had 18,800 when the budget was filed in February. wonder what it has now???? He is paying a police officer to be a code enforcement officer.
Rob-
No good deed goes unpunished.
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