City wants to know more about you

February 26, 2019

The city sent this notice:

The City of El Paso was awarded $100,000 in grant funding to use towards extending resources to our minority business population via programs that are easily accessible to the public. We hope to remove barriers of access to important resources such as capital, contracts, markets, and strategic business consulting services. We look to enhance economic and educational opportunities for the public via local resource partners, multiple City of El Paso Departments, and The El Paso Public Library System, which is another support pillar within the business ecosystem and for minorities.

The results of this survey will be used to gather baseline data for the City Accelerator project. The City Accelerator project is aimed at improving local job growth for minority and disadvantaged small business owners and entrepreneurs in all employment and business sectors.

As an important member of our community, your feedback is imperative to better inform the regional needs of the minority small business and entrepreneurial community.  Please take five to ten minutes to complete the survey at:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfZsvD2hfmKaPwF_KExEXSdfijXJvunfhYTav0lvGcyFqdDUA/viewform?usp=sf_link

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Aimee Olivas, Business Retention and Expansion Specialist at OlivasAP@elpasotexas.gov.  Your participation, highlighted by this survey, is appreciated and will ensure we address the needs of our minority small business owners and entrepreneurs in the El Paso Region.

***************************************

Take a moment and look at the survey.

Would you give them this level of information?

We deserve better

Brutus

5 Comments | City government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus

City stops posting interim financial statements

February 17, 2019

Would you like to know what the city’s interim financial statements look like?

Good luck

This is what the city’s website presented when I tried to look up a current statement the other day:

While they used to post a report each month it looks like they have not done so for almost a year.

We deserve better

Brutus

5 Comments | City government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus

EPISD compared to the others

February 15, 2019

This slide came from a recent EPISD meeting:

Yep, the city is getting in our pocket books.

EPISD has been holding the line and I thank them.

Next year, however, will be another story.  They will have to raise their interest and sinking funds rate to make up for the 10 cents the voters gave them in the penny swap election.

The chart shows the increases.  What it fails to point out is that half of your property tax bill goes to the district.

We deserve better

Brutus

9 Comments | City government, County Government, El Paso Independent School District | Permalink
Posted by Brutus

Executive session participants

February 12, 2019

Rich Wright over at elchuqueno.com wrote the other day about the city’s continuing use of executive session.

I don’t attend many city council meetings so I don’t know who goes into the executive sessions.

For those of you who do attend be on the lookout for who goes in.

Texas law only gives city council members the right to attend executive sessions.  The city attorney must also be present.

Note that the city council members have the right to attend and cannot be kept out unless the issue is about them.

On the other hand city council has the right to request the presence of any of the city officers or employees as long as their presence “is necessary to the matter under consideration”.

In other words the city officers and employees should only be in the meeting as long as it takes to discuss the particular subject that they are involved with.

We deserve better

Brutus

 

2 Comments | City government, State Government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus

Now we are at $250 million

February 10, 2019

This is part of an email that came in from Max Grossman:

Vic Kolenc of the El Paso Times just published a report which includes new information on the City of El Paso’s intentions for their “Arena”. Most importantly, City Engineer Sam Rodriguez confirms that the “Arena” will cost around $250 million rather than the $180 million that voters expected. Moreover, he claims “that number could change.” Ladies and Gentlemen, brace yourself for the eventuality that the City will announce an even higher price tag, impacting our property taxes even further!
We deserve better
Brutus

12 Comments | City government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »