How much of the street car project has been done at this point?
Should it bother us that they already have a $4 million overrun on the $97 million project?
It seems that they had problems with utility lines that were not part of the original specification.
Who would have thought that water, sewer, electrical, and communication lines would be buried in the path?
Remarkable, really remarkable.
We deserve better
Brutus
12 Comments | 
City government | 
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Posted by Brutus
Evidently the city and the contractor doing the work at San Jacinto Plaza have reached a settlement.
The result? We were lied to.
As the project drew on and on we were frequently told that the contractor was at fault and would be fined $1,000 a day for being late.
They settled for the original contract amount without late fees.
Other reputable bidders complained before the bid was awarded that the low bid was unrealistic–the project would end up costing more. City council ignored them.
Even more troubling is this statement by the city attorney: “The City received the benefit of the additional work but did not pay additional funds”.
The city received $500,000 of free work according to the contractor.
How can that be fair?
The city’s reputation for using its legion of lawyers to cheat vendors is only getting worse. Contractors bidding on the quality of life projects will take note and will add money to their bids to try to protect themselves.
We deserve better.
Brutus
8 Comments | City government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus
Are there automobile accident investigation methods that allow normal traffic to resume more quickly than the ones used by the El Paso police department?
We can understand the need to gather facts but the impact on the public should be considered also.
We deserve better
Brutus
12 Comments | City government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus
The Times published “Tax bills still rising steadily in El Paso” on their front page last Sunday.
They cited information from a 2010 study and wrote “El Paso’s median property-tax bill ranked 299th or in the top half of 805 of the nation’s largest counties, in a Tax Foundation report using 2010 data, the latest report available from the organization.”
In Climbing to the top we wrote that the Minnesota Center for Fiscal Excellence places El Paso as having the third highest tax rate among America’s 50 largest cities. The report was based on 2015 taxes. You can’t get more current than that.
We know that people at the Times read this blog.
Was this article written to help the EPISD bond? Were they trying to convince us that El Paso’s tax rates aren’t that bad?
We deserve better
Brutus
6 Comments | City government, County Government, El Paso Independent School District, El Paso Times | Permalink
Posted by Brutus
This came in from Helen Marshall the other day:
Perusing my El Paso Inc today I am reminded that among the six nominees is Carmen Arrieta-Candelaria, described as the EPISD deputy superintendent for finance and operations. Her “most significant impact” came in her 2004-2014 tenure with the City, where she “headed financing work on different public projects, the new city hall and Southwest University Park among them. Matching projects with financing and utilizing different financing strategies made them happen.”
Need they say more? Might be worth mentioning the Quality of Life bond that seriously underestimated the costs of major projects…nah, who cares about that? Or the fraudulent costs of the baseball stadium…nah, just a waste of ink.
I feel sorry for the other nominees.
3 Comments | Ball park, City government, El Paso Inc., El Paso Independent School District | Permalink
Posted by Brutus
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