Does anyone know how our city bike share program is doing?
We could file an open records request but would rather find out before all of the bikes rust into the ground.
We deserve better
Brutus
Finger pointing
March 3, 2016Various past and present city officials are telling vastly different stories about how we got stuck with the $27 million bill because they failed to sell the ball park bonds when they could have.
People are lying.
Under the circumstances it seems to me that it would be appropriate for the city to subpoena them all for questioning.
We deserve better
Brutus
4 Comments | 
Ball park, City government | 
Permalink
Posted by Brutus
Quit stalling
March 2, 2016Just when it looks like the local politicos have run out of fingers to point we learn that our former city manager’s attorney is in a dust up with the investigator that the city hired.
The investigator evidently wrote “Ms. Wilson’s legal counsel indicated that she was advising Ms. Wilson not to cooperate with this investigation any further” in his report to the city.
Now according to the Times the former city manager’s attorney has written “I am demanding that you immediately correct your false and malicious statement regarding Ms. Wilson’s position” in a letter to the investigator.
In Pitiful we saw that on November 15, 2015 Ms. Wilson said that she did not purposely delay the sale of the ball park bonds until after the city election.
KVIA exposed her on November 23, 2015 by showing an August 26, 2013 email from her to our city attorney where she outlined the process that led her to delay the sale.
It is hard to believe anything that she says at this point. The news reports indicate that she says she is not refusing to cooperate with the investigation. Instead she needs more time.
I don’t know how much time it will take for her to come up with the names of the people who were involved with the delay of the sale of the bonds. Her August 26, 2013 email already has shown that the former mayor and mayor-pro-tempore “concurred” with the delay.
It seems that she should be able to tell us soon, real soon.
“After that I expect the city to move on”, Wilson said according to the Times article.
Many of us might have said “After that I hope that the city will move on” but in her case she seems to think that she can tell us what to do.
We deserve better
Brutus
10 Comments | Ball park, City government, El Paso Times | Permalink
Posted by Brutus
Widen the net
March 1, 2016Noticeably absent from the Times coverage the other day of the various messes at the city was any mention of our former chief financial officer.
In Who had the power to sell the ballpark bonds? we saw that any one of three people could have sold the bonds including the former CFO.
One might argue that under the old city manager no one would dare to disagree with her. In fact at least one deputy city manager did and lost her job faster than you can say redo San Jacinto Plaza. Now that I think of it almost anything could be done faster than the San Jacinto Plaza project so lets say faster than the baby sitter’s boyfriend when your car pulls up.
Of course that was much of the problem and still is today. The city manager’s job has become so powerful that city staff cannot respectfully disagree.
Our former chief financial officer had a duty to the public to sound the alarm. Maybe she was in favor of the delay and shares responsibility for the $27 million that we lost. She of all people should have known better.
We deserve better
Brutus
3 Comments | Ball park, City government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus
Late to the show
February 29, 2016Aren’t we lucky?
Our long time district attorney has stood on the sidelines while many of local politicos are convicted.
Now on the eve of an election where he has two opponents he has decided to ask a different agency to investigate some of the mess at the city.
Wow! Talk about firm action to protect the citizens!
Note that his office is not talking about investigating. He is asking someone else to do it.
We deserve better
Brutus
8 Comments | City government, County Government, El Paso Independent School District, State Government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus
elpasospeak 
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