CAAC upholds funding pitch
The city’s Cultural Affairs Advisory Committee on Thursday stood united by its funding recommendations for the arts and tourism to the City Commission, although the number of committee members is dwindling.
The recommendations have provoked outcries of unfairness from organizations not recommended for funding.
The City Commission established the committee to develop a funding process based on oversight and accountability, to ensure the effective and efficient use of city hotel-motel occupancy tax revenues and General Fund money.
The City Commission tabled the committee’s recommendations at its Aug. 4 meeting.
"Our recommendations remain the same," seven members at Thursday’s meeting of the initially 10-member committee said in a statement that they signed.
United Way of Southern Cameron County, whose president Traci Wickett represented the non-profit segment of the community by virtue of her position, withdrew from the committee, noting that the committee had completed its task. One member was absent from the committee meeting and another committee seat remains vacant.
The other committee members are moving forward.
They include Vice-Chair Sylvia L. Perez, Secretary Robert L. Prepejchal, Treasurer Rosendo Escareño, members Hugh Emerson, Rita S. Eckert, Connie Hensley, who is on the committee representing the hotel-motel industry, and Angela R. Burton, who as Brownsville Chamber of Commerce president and CEO represents the business community on the committee.
Member Peter J. Harris did not attend the meeting.
Perez said the committee would continue its work "until told otherwise" to ensure that funded organizations are held accountable, while Prepejchal added, "We need to keep going forward (and) keep our best face out there."
The committee did not recommend funding for the Brownsville Museum of Fine Art, Camille Players Inc., Gorgas Science Foundation, the Historic Brownsville Museum, the University of Texas and Texas Southmost College Guitar Festival, and the Brownsville Convention and Visitors Bureau for a variety of reasons, from not providing sufficient information in the funding application to concerns regarding financial stability and return on investment.
Deputy City Manager Pete Gonzalez alerted the committee that City Manager Charlie Cabler might be making changes to the committee’s recommendations, in the proposed budget for the new fiscal year that is scheduled to be filed today with the City Secretary’s Office.
While Prepejchal said that he couldn’t see how Cabler could change the recommendations, Gonzalez noted that Cabler is the city’s budget officer.
"We have to honor that," Perez said.
