READERS ASK Â…

Readers submitted comments and questions via e-mail and online this week for mayoral run-off candidates Pat M. Ahumada Jr. and Ernie L. Hernandez Jr. and City Commission At-large A run-off candidates Anthony P. Troiani and Ernesto De Leon. We posed selected questions to the candidates Friday. These are their responses:

(Note: Submissions have been edited for grammar, spelling, length, accuracy and pertinence to the issues.)

Reader: The developers and the citizens must share the pain of growth and prosperity. To do so otherwise is obviously unfair. Developers are making money hand over fist. Yet, the common theory is: If they have to pay any dollar figure amount, they will flee and take jobs with them. Step back for a moment and think about it. That is a strong-arming mentality that breeds fear into submission of a whole community. It is wrong to bend to such threats, even if it is only in theory. Yes, some developers will flee from doing right by everyone, but many will not. The ones that stay are the ones we should permit to build in our community as they will not exploit the painters, carpenters, roofers, bricklayers, etc. They will not build shoddy houses. They will build proper streets with appropriate drainage. They will complete the job and not run with your money, never to be seen again. Do not let fear keep a bad system from being remedied. To reach a common ground on this issue, maybe we should consider lesser amounts at this time until the higher fee for developers can be realized and slowly implemented into city building policies. They need to pay something.

Q: Does the panel of commissioners along with the mayor plan on re-addressing this impact fee issue?

Ahumada: Right away. I plan to start the process all over again as called for by law. It’s outdated now. Based on the statute, we have to start all over again. Unfortunately, that’s the way it is. This will be eating up more time and costing more money. Had we adopted the increased impact fee, we could have adjusted it up or down. I wouldn’t say we have to redo the study, but I think we will have to update it.

Hernandez: Right away. There is no doubt that the impact fee has to go up but at a rate that is not going to drastically affect economic stability. Housing numbers are down, and we are not sure why, but this slows down the sales tax, and a couple of companies have laid off people. We have to be real careful how we address that. An increase should be phased over two or three years.

Troiani: I think it is obviously something that needs to be addressed. My whole take on the impact fee is that it needs to be increased. It hasn’t gone up in 16 years, and that just doesn’t make any sense. It has to, but what are the capital improvements that we are looking at?

De Leon: Of course, developers have gotten away with impact fees for so long, and then the commission approved an increase on Commissioner Sally Arroyo’s motion. Then the majority had the audacity to rescind the increase. Guess what? The developers were not happy with it. Who is running the city?

Q: What are their strategies?

Ahumada: I’m going to be responsible for making sure that these things are done. We have to bring it to the commission for discussion and send it back to the Brownsville Public Utilities Board and start the process all over again. In the meantime, we are losing a lot of money by subsidizing developments.

Hernandez: The key is the Capital Improvement Advisory Committee (CIAC). We need its recommendation. The CIAC has to give a written recommendation to the City Commission before an impact fee can be enacted. That’s my understanding. We never received one officially.

Troiani: Once we know what capital improvements are needed, then we can adjust the impact fee to support these and sustain economic growth. If you’re going to buy a vehicle, you don’t negotiate the price until you know what vehicle you are buying. I don’t want to commit to a number until I know what capital improvements are needed. That is my position.

De Leon: I would proudly make the motion to increase impact fees. The only difference between my opponent and myself is the impact fees. I demand that the developers pay their fair share. Whether you own a house or not, you pay the bill and you are subsidizing the growth of this community.

Reader: The Brownsville judicial district (Harrison Street county courthouse area) requires far more parking than what is available. We have a wonderfully functioning courthouse, administration building, etc. Then, we have our parking lot, a mess. It has been repaved of late, however a two-story parking structure with one way in and one way out would greatly improve our judicial business district functioning inside and out.

Q: Will you as the next mayor consider putting such an idea before the commission?

Ahumada: Let’s be responsible and look at the alternatives and how can taxpayers monies be used the best. It used to be that a garage parking space cost about $13,000. It’s now approximately at $60,000 a space. It could be more feasible to buy land around the area, demolish dilapidated buildings and develop parking areas.

Hernandez: What I’ve been told is that a garage space costs $100,000 or so. It’s a ridiculous high number. I think it would be better to clean up dilapidated buildings and construct pocket parking. It could be cheaper for us to do that.

Q: If so, how would you appropriate the funds to do so?

Ahumada: We would need to study the issue to identify the costs and options.

Hernandez: We could use Community Development Block Grant monies and general funds. It also could be part of a bond program.

Reader: There are many educated, determined young minds in this town and they need jobs to continue on their path to success, which in the end benefits this community because they stay here and raise families.

Q: What steps will you as a city official take toward promoting Brownsville to companies within high-tech industries that would benefit our community by bringing higher paying wages?

Ahumada: I would get the university involved and professionals in the marketing field to target the right market. I would work with the chamber of commerce, Brownsville Economic Development Council to bring those high-tech jobs. I also would work with Cameron County and Port of Brownsville.

Hernandez: We need to continue to attract business, and fiber optic technology is the new maquila, the new clean industry, and this would attract high-tech jobs. The minimum threshold is $10 an hour. We are working really hard to make sure that workers can afford to buy a home and car.

Troiani: A big component on that is our university. It is a huge resource. Our work force also is becoming more skilled. A lot of universities have programs, such as think tanks, where professors work on business strategies. It makes sense that if you have a resource, you need to utilize it. We have the resources, a growing population, a young population, and we need to exploit that.

De Leon: Matamoros is doing a better job than we are in promoting their community. We should join forces with Matamoros and with the state of Tamaulipas in stretching our marketing dollar. United we stand and divided we fall.

Q: Mr. Hernandez is against raising the connection fee for the developers in this town, why?

Hernandez: That is not true. I am against raising the connection fee for the end-user, the buyer, the one that is going to pay for that. The developers have prepaid the connection fees for four to five years. It is not going to affect them. The individual is going to pay the price, and water is not going to be purer or faster. Impact fees would affect water meter fees. If I’m wrong, I will restate my position after the election.

Q: When will the residents of West Los Ebanos see a speed bump implemented between the railroad tracks and El Paso Street? The application was submitted more than a year ago, however they have been waiting at least 20 years.

Ahumada: My understanding is that there is a moratorium on speed bumps, but I would have to look into this. I would have to track down the application. If the application has been approved, I would ask the city manager to bring it to the commission and to get it done ASAP. If not, I would like to find out why.

Hernandez: I know there are at least 150 applications for speed bumps. We used to build them for $600. The cost now is about $2,000. We’ve probably put bumps in places they don’t belong and ignored others. Every street should have one. It slows down the traffic, and they do become a nuisance, but the real issue is the safety for children.

Troiani: I would think that we would talk to the public works department and see what happened. Obviously, it is important to the citizens of that area. Throughout my campaign, I have talked about the need for planning, setting goals and prioritizing them. We can’t go skipping back and forth. We need to address problems in a fair and equitable manner.

De Leon: I would be more than happy to look into this. While I understand that there is a list of areas that have been put up for speed bumps, I don’t know where this request stands. Maybe we can move it forward, but I need to look into this first.

Reader: Dear candidates, to my understanding the city of Brownsville’s animal shelter kills 7,000 animals a year, and the numbers continue to rise. That staggering number is indicative of a serious problem. With that said, I ask each of you:

Q: What steps do you plan on taking, toward reducing the pet population epidemic running amok in Brownsville?

Ahumada: I am proposing that a moratorium be placed on euthanizing domesticated pets. They are God’s creation, and we have to be responsible for them. I propose to stop the sale of puppies at flea markets, street corners and close down puppy mills. I would make an effort to work with Brownsville Independent School District children on a monthly basis to educate them on the care of pets, making sure they are spayed and neutered. We could create a city Web site where people who lose their dogs can go or if they want to adopt a pet.

Hernandez: I was one that found funding to build the animal shelter. I have three dogs, birds and fish. My wife used to own a pet shop. We are big animal lovers, but we have to think about the people issues before the animals, I’m sorry to say. We have a first-class animal shelter, and we have to teach our kids about caring for their animals. We need to make people understand that they have to take responsibility when you own a pet. We should make neutering and spaying mandatory.

Troiani: We need to be more responsible, and when the city has the neutering and spaying clinics, I think that’s a good thing. We’re on the right track there. Pet adoption shelters, that is a good thing too. No one wants to have those types of numbers.

De Leon: We need to have a program to spay and neuter stray animals. I feel that by working together with the Brownsville Independent School District we can teach our children how to take care of their pets. I think that would alleviate the problem.

Q: How do plan on communicating the need for responsible pet ownership to your citizens?

Ahumada: I would make an effort to work with Brownsville Independent School District children on a monthly basis to educate them on the care of pets.

Hernandez: We need to make people understand that they have to take responsibility when you own a pet.

Troiani: Public education. For example, recycling is a big issue, and schools are promoting this.

De Leon: I have worked closely with the Humane Society in the construction of the animal shelter and I have been through several of their meetings. I know their concerns and problems. We need people interested in adopting animals and reducing adoption fees could help.

Reader: Mr. Ahumada, in 1993 as mayor of the city of Brownsville, you approved an 8 percent increase in city electric rates. That same year, in September of 1993, you also supported a controversial 9 percent increase in municipal property taxes.

Q: How can you blame Mr. Hernandez for high PUB electrical rates when you yourself have repeatedly supported higher PUB rates and higher taxes?

Ahumada: For three years since 1990, we didn’t have an electric rate increase due to the circumstances at the time. The PUB board recommended in 1993 that we increase the rate, and it amounted to less than 3 percent a year. I think that was responsible, and we had 0 percent increases on water and wastewater rates, compared to my opponent who has voted 11 times in 14 years for an over 50 percent increase in rates. I proposed to lower taxes from 75 cents to 67.5 cents. They went with 65 cents and derailed the paving program, which is what I said would happen and did happen.

Pat Ahumada Jr. Q: How do you intend to lower PUB electric rates given the high cost of fuel?

Ahumada: We are working on that. Our leadership has provided the ability to purchase coal fired generation. That alone is lowering our rates already on the electrical side. Rates will be cheaper if we are less dependent on oil. We need to keep working on coal generation and push for wind generation to harness the winds and that would make us less dependent on oil and coal also.

Ernie L. Hernandez Jr. Q: Why should the developers not have to pay 100 percent of the true impact fee incurred by the people of Brownsville every time a new home is hooked up?

Hernandez: What people don’t understand is that all fees related to water and sewer lines and streets and lampposts and stop signs are all paid by developers. I have always argued what subsidy are you talking about? Developers pay all that. PUB doesn’t pay that.