Cafe Brownsville
If this is how it is with Ahumada, imagine what it will be like when Atkinson is in charge. He is listed as the mayor pro-tem. Sooner or later Ahumada will have to miss a meeting and then let's just hope that there isn't any business before the city that involves out-of-towners having to address the commission; that might turn into a bigger embarrassment.
Mr. Davis you did a fantastic job at the City Commission Meeting. I thought they where about to throw you out though.
I love it "follow the rules, we have them (rules)for a reason" the mayor tells those voicing their concerns at the city commission circus. Please follow the one minute RULE. You see it's not an ordinance, if it were an ORDINANCE...you wouldn't have to follow it or at atleast we'd give you 10 days to follow the one minute rule! 
I apologize for the long post.
Did you catch that whole thing with the recycling memo of understanding? Luckily Troiani caught it. Sounds like Ahumada and Garcia were trying to circumvent the bid procedures, or at least give one company an advantage. This contract must be worth millions.
What I hate more than anything is the hypocrisy of this administration. Ahumada railed against Mayor Trevino for getting involved in PUB affairs, yet there he is meddling and voting. Ahumada railed against Trevino when he wanted to appoint whomever he wanted on committees, and now Ahumada wants "the courtesy" and has replaced almost everyone with his cronies. Ahumada railed against Trevino for not following the city charter, and yet this clown is doing it with the PUB fee. Now he wants to change a city ordinance because of the dog issue. He railed against other ex-commissioners for self-dealing, and yet there he is trying to toss a contract towards his buddies on PUB which is why he wanted to rescind the Cubco contract. He railed on Hernandez and Trevino for raising PUB bills and he promised to lower them, and this guy almost immediately raises the fee. His knee jerk reactions, lack of planning, lack of thinking, lack of comprehension, lack of intelligent discourse, bully tactics, his side-show mascots of Atkinson and Garza who repeat the absurd "arguments," as if they were prepped before the meeting, and his general God-complex have really turned me off.
I'm not paying that fee. Not because I can't afford two dollars. I don't like things shoved down my throat, and I have plenty of questions that need to be answered. And yet, no one is bothering to answer them. All I hear are emotional pleas and arguments, "for the kids, people dying in car accidents, the poor dogs..."
We should hear: how much money will be generated this way? how will they collect from all the other citizens that don't use PUB? how many ambulances will be bought, and how will the money be raised to staff these ambulances? Why do we have ambulances that are non-operational and unstaffed? Do we need new ambulances? Why didn't I hear a report on this DIRE need from the fire chief or from the city manager? Why did some random guy that hasn't worked in a while go up there to say that Brownsville needed new ambulances? Who made him an expert?Have I seen a report that states this as a fact? How much money does the animal shelter get already? Why do they need more? And how much more? How will this money be spent? On a bigger building? staff? spaying and neutering program? How will it be spent? Why isn't the BSPCA taking care of this need to relieve the burden from the city? What happened to all that money Catherine Stillman gave them? How was it spent? Who is planning to evacuate the animals, the city or BSPCA? How much money does that cost per dog/cat?
On the arts...How much money will each organization (BMFA and Camille Lighter Playhouse) receive per year? How much do they really need? Have we seen a budget? Will it be for operations? Programs? More exhibits? Free admission? What board will be appointed to make sure the money is spent the way it should be? Have they turned in financials to disclose their situation? If not, why are we giving them more money out of the blue? Shouldn't other arts organizations been given a chance to apply for this money? Why? Why not? Will the residents that pay this bill get free admission to performances and to the museum? Why are they struggling as Dr. Montalvo stated? Have we seen a business plan to make sure that this isn't a long term solution to their problems?
No one has answered these questions. Instead it was rammed down everyone's throats, and I for one do not appreciate it. I think at this rate their political futures are bleak. Although I will say that I was really impressed with Camarillo's questions. But one thing I learned from watching this meeting is that rational questions posed to irrational people accomplishes nothing. And I continue to be impressed with Troiani. Too bad he's not the mayor. Then again, he might just be too rational and observant for all those that voted for Ahumada.
One more thing? Who the hell are the Mayor's advisors? What are their qualifications? And why are private citizens making these decisions? Why aren't accountable to the voters, the Mayor is.
Is Dr. Garcia an expert in recycling that she can recommend a certain program over another one? Is their some public safety expert that advised him about ambulances? Who is he? What about the arts expert? Who is he/she? Are they qualified to give opinions and who qualified them? I ask because I'm not convinced that anyone with the exception of a chiropractor (who knows about recycling?) has an education beyond high school.
those are lots of questions, but all good ones. i havenn't heard the answers either and i'm not sure the present commission has researched the answers. I guess this is why they should have waited and let people have a workshop, see a cost/benefit analysis like commissioner troiani suggested and come up with a plan first BEFORE slapping the fee on there. people deserve to know how their money is being spent. too bad Ahumada and his supporters do not feel the same way...from what I understand about not paying the PUB fee is that it would be left "as a balance owed" on the next bill if it is not paid. then at some point they turn it over to collections.
When I was watching the Mayor's report, what crossed my mind was not if the presenters were qualified, though that is a very important question, but rather, I didn't know a private citizen could be included or commissioned to represent the mayor in meetings, as it seems to have been done with Mr Golansky (sp?). The mayor is ELECTED to represent the city and I would think that if the mayor can not attend an official meeting, only another commissioner, or a city administrator could sit in for him. I would understand if one of the at-large commissioners or the mayor pro-tem sat in for the mayor on a meeting; even a district commissioner, if he sat on a committee relevant to the issue to be discussed, would be more appropriate than a private citizen. Has this been done before in previous administrations and more importantly, is it ethical?
I don't think cronyism is the issue though. I suspect Ahumada is enamored with the strong mayor-council form of city governance where an executive mayor can appoint a deputy mayor for X and deputy mayor for Y, etc. While I must confess that I too would like us to at least consider this form of government, the reality is that at this moment this is not how our city is run. I didn't elect Mr. Golansky and the elected Commission didn't vote to hire him or appoint him to repesent us at HUD meetings.
Lastly, unless these weekly reports include updates on setbacks, mistakes, and corrections, and/or time is set aside to allow for the rest of the commmissioners to include their plans for future projects, this will be just a weekly campaign presentation to re-elect Ahumada. Even if that is not his intention, if that is a predictable effect, the ethics of it should be questioned.
Hey, the post man obviously stole my invitation to be on the Mayor's Dream Team of advisors. Chris did you get yours? I'm sure it's in the mail.
On another note, shouldn't the city manager and his staff be the advisors?
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