Commission earns C+ for first 100 days together

Despite a charged atmosphere with some political needling and behind-the-scenes trouble making, the City Commission has achieved some solidarity in the last 100 days.

More than 90 percent of their decisions have been made unanimously in the months since a new mayor and commissioners were seated June 26.

They have patted employees on the back and passed a stream of proclamations recognizing sound and good causes.

They’ve agreed on long lists of land use requests that allow for further growth. They were unanimous in requiring developers to set aside land for parks and or schools, unanimously approved this fiscal year’s budget, and recently took a unified stand against a proposed border fence.

Still, there are plenty of sparks and short fuses.

The first came when Mayor Pat M. Ahumada pushed to approve a mandatory $3 fee for Brownsville Public Utilities Board users to fund pet needs and emergency care. Fine arts efforts and public safety improvements inspired weeks-long debate and contention.

The commission ultimately agreed to a voluntary $2 fee for PUB customers.

By September they reduced customer service fees from $5.53 to $2.53. Late payment charges were cut from 10 percent to 5 percent but the service reconnection fee was tripled from $25 to $75.

Meanwhile, Ahumada, an ex-officio member of the PUB who campaigned on lowering utility bills, lost favor with supporters for promoting the failed $3 fee but gained allegiance from area animal lovers and arts patrons.

Pat Ahumada, the candidate, once pledged to bring unity to city leadership. One hundred days since he stood to cheers from his inaugural audience, Pat Ahumada, the mayor, sits at the center of the sometimes divided and often explosive panel.

He can sometimes be seen shaking his head, staring at the ceiling in frustration, sighing heavily or pounding his gavel to restore order or folding his hands to regain composure.

Divisiveness on several critical issues has split public perception of the new commission. Finding common ground seems at best, hard-fought and at worst, nearly impossible on issues such as appointments to boards, funding for the arts, and dealing with the animal population.

Charles Chapman, government department chair at the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College, assesses the commission is in a period of adjustment.

“They are settling in,” Chapman said.

“They have different personalities, are opinionated and have strong views. You know, some of the guys on either side will probably become pretty good friends in another year.”

For now, “all of them have to calm down the rhetoric and listen to each other as opposed to yelling at each other. It might be wise to ratchet it down a bit,” he said.

“I think they will be fine.”

If “fine” means doing just well enough, then Chapman tapped on the sentiments of nearly 500 Brownsville Herald readers and city residents that participated in an online grading exercise for this commission.

Respondents to a Brownsville 2020 online survey offered their “grade” for each commission member on subjects such as attendance, participation, responsiveness to constituent concerns and to a previous 2020 survey that identified the top matters of concern for 3,340 residents.

The “2020 Report Card” results, published inside today’s Herald and online at Brownsville2020.com, show mixed reviews, averaging to a high C, which, City Manager Charlie Cabler might say, is because “we are going through an adjustment phase.”

As city manager, Cabler is charged with implementing policy that the City Commission establishes and running the day-to-day operations of city government. At commission meetings he is a sideline observer, consulted often for guidance and clarification as the seven members sometimes stumble through procedure.

“Even though they disagree on how things should be handled,” the four-year city manager said, “ultimately what I see is that they all have the firm belief that they are serving their city to the best of their ability and they want to see the city prosper.”

For the average resident, the neighbor down the street, the commission’s grace period has an immediate impact.

“The resident might not get her street paved, dogs are running every which way, and the response time of police officers if someone is being burglarized, might not be as quick,” Chapman said.

And while our elected leaders develop policy, the city’s day-to-day operation happens at the management level, the professor noted. Life goes on in our homes and streets while the show heats up inside commission chambers.

“The only way to set good policy is to do that in an environment of reason and respect,” Chapman warned.

“If they are mad at each other and can’t agree on anything, they are not engaging in good, solid policy-making to give good policies to the city manager to implement.”

The new commission was assembled in June with Ahumada, new commissioners Anthony P. Troiani and Leo Garza, re-elected commissioners Ricardo Longoria Jr. and Charlie Atkinson joining holdover commissioners Carlos Cisneros and Edward Camarillo. Camarillo’s and Cisneros’ terms end in 2009.

A review of commission agendas shows routine, though important issues, rather than new or innovative initiatives have dominated city business.

Interest in the public comment period has picked up since it was moved to the beginning of the meeting as Ahumada promised to do if elected.

Hot topics that have been addressed include appointments to city boards, the animal population, arts funding, utilities, taxes and conduct at City Commission meetings.

A stream of appointments to critical boards have been made, often by a split commission, including nominations to the Capital Improvement Advisory Committee, which with the Brownsville Public Utilities Board works on establishing the basis for impact fees.

They rejected Ahumada’s request for funds to expand the animal shelter, while they approved a reduced request to fund local arts.

Utility service charges were reduced, although property taxes were slightly increased by a unanimous vote. The new rate is .650517 cents per $100 of assessed property valuation, up from .650235 cents, a .04 percent increase.

Outstanding matters include the city’s lack of emergency responders. The city will purchase two ambulances this fiscal year, bringing up the number to about 12, but only seven or eight can be deployed based on available personnel.

Cabler said cross-training firefighters and emergency medical technicians would help supply this demand.

The city also needs more police officers to meet residents’ calls for increased neighborhood patrol and faster response to assistance requests.

There are roughly 240 officers, averaging about 20 per patrol shift in a city of roughly 170,000. The police chief has requested about 15 more officers, Cabler said, but again funding is not available.

Then there’s the matter of our streets. City Engineer Carlos Lastra recently described their state as, “different levels of bad.”

None on the commission dispute the need for an ambitious street reconstruction plan, though no discussion on this topic is documented in the public record. Ahumada said that with the budget-preparation process complete, he would soon be proposing a street-paving bond initiative to start next year. About $5 million are left from a multi-million prior bond program for this fiscal year.

The city budget for street repair and maintenance was cut for this fiscal year by $2 million for its 2007-08 budget. Cabler recently said that there are approximately 700 miles of streets in the city and that up to 35 percent are in need of repair or reconstruction. The goal is to pave up to 50 miles this year.

The quality of streets and increased traffic are the No. 1 and 2 concerns on the Brownsville 2020 community survey. Crime and unsafe neighborhoods ranked No. 5. Safe and accessible parks and recreation ranked last with 767 of 3,340 responses.

A review of agenda items pertaining to the concerns identified in the survey found streets mentioned only twice, while crime and unsafe neighborhoods and parks and recreation areas were discussed at greater length.

“I would prefer that we had focused more on the basic needs of the public such as infrastructure and streets,” Troiani said of the commission’s trajectory to date.

Troiani would not offer a “grade” for the commission’s first 100 days but did volunteer this thought, “We are the face of Brownsville and Brownsville expects more of us and that is one of the things that I feel we need to remember while we are there.”

He believes the commission must achieve “a certain level of professionalism” and “have more of an appearance of a united front.”

And for the next 100 days, Troiani said, “my hope is that we have more interaction at the City Commission level. We are starting to see that. It has evolved and continues to evolve.”

Troiani’s top concerns include BUS users that stand at naked bus stops with no awning in inclement weather for elderly riders. “We could do a lot more,” he said, but said he has not brought the matter to the commission, noting that he is pursuing other funding avenues. He also awaits the Imagine Brownsville findings to prioritize needs.

“Brownsville is the agenda” for Ahumada’s second term in office. His first term ended in 1993, one year short of completion.

The mayor would also not venture a rating for the commission’s first 100 days but said the Brownsville 2020 survey results are part of his plan for the city and called for more accord if not civility among commission members.

“We have a leadership role to play, to provide solutions to the problems and improve the quality of life for our citizens … We must work together, and that is not happening because the personalities are coming into play instead of the issues,” he said and offered himself this consolation: “Considering that, I believe that I have been successful in many ways. … At least I brought issues to the forefront.”

SEE SUNDAY'S BROWNSVILLE HERALD OR CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW TO VIEW THE REPORT CARD RESULTS ONLINE.