Pretty simple to do a good job

June 6, 2016

Evidently many of our local board members do not share our thoughts about what their  jobs are and are not,  so let’s talk about it.

The number one job of your board is to see to it that your entity provides the public with cost effective services according to your charter.

You do that through deciding policy and then managing your director/executive/administrator/manager .  Lets call this person your director.  Your director works for you.  You do not work for your director.  Your should see to it that your director executes the board’s policies morally, legally, and efficiently.

You are not there to be a rubber stamp for your director.  Not all ideas are good ideas.  You should question each and every action that comes before you as a board.  Unfortunately we see many cases in El Paso where agency staff flat out lies to their board.  Read your agendas.  Ask questions.  Reach out to people who know about the issue that are not involved with the agency.

Stop the favoritism.  If you were once a board member do not later take a job with the agency.  Do not hire your director and then let your director hire you.

Do not take money from your agency.  If they need something and you can give them an advantageous deal, give it to them for free.  If it looks bad you should avoid it.

If you must travel for your entity, pay for it yourself.  If you cannot afford it, don’t go.  Junkets look bad.

Don’t take a board position to advance your resume.  Be active, work for us!

Stay tuned in the coming days as we write about some examples of poor behavior on the part of boards and their directors/staffs.

We deserve better

Brutus

3 Comments | City government, County Government, Federal Government, Open Government, Purchasing, State Government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus

Remembering those who fell in the line of service

May 30, 2016

We take this day to honor the memory of those who died while in the military service of our country.

Anyone who would like to call out the name and circumstances of such individuals is invited to do so.

Freedom is not free.

Brutus

3 Comments | Federal Government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus

Debtor’s prison

May 19, 2016

An astute reader sent us a link to an El Diario article.

The article tells us that the city is being sued by the Texas Civil Rights Project.

The problem?

Evidently our city put 34,000 people in jail last year because they could not pay 25% of their traffic fine.

The article gives the example of a mother of two children who spent ten days in jail last year because of her inability to pay her traffic fine.

The city is evidently required to provide options before jailing someone.

For my part, if I ignore the violation of our Constitution, I wonder about the cost of this practice.

For the Spanish challenged here is a link to the page through google translate:

https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=es&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fdiario.mx%2FEl_Paso%2F2016-05-09_608004f3%2Fdemandan-a-la-ciudad-por-encarcelar-a-deudores-viales%2F&edit-text=

Mouse over the text to get the original Spanish.

We deserve better

Brutus

8 Comments | City government, Federal Government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus

A note from Helen Marshall

May 18, 2016

This came in from Helen Marshall:

I am saddened that some of your commenters found it funny to insert snide remarks about “guys peeing in the ladies room” in a discussion of the traffic congestion here.

Perhaps if they had some personal understanding of the difficulties faced by transgendered people they might see it differently.

In any case they do your efforts to write thoughtful, focused pieces a serious disservice.

5 Comments | City government, Federal Government, State Government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus

Never ending battle

May 15, 2016

It is to be regretted that the rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their selfish purposes.  Distinctions in society will always exist under every just government.  Equality of talents, of education, or of wealth can not be produced by human institutions.  In the full enjoyment of the gifts of Heaven and the fruits of superior industry, economy, and virtue, every man is equally entitled to protection by law; but when the laws undertake to add to these natural and just advantages artificial distinctions, to grant titles, gratuities, and exclusive privileges, to make the rich richer and the potent more powerful, the humble members of society–the farmers, mechanics, and laborers–who have neither the time nor the means of securing like favors to themselves, have a right to complain of the injustice of their Government…

Experience should teach us wisdom.  Most of the difficulties our Government now encounters and most of the dangers which impend over our Union have sprung from an abandonment of the legitimate objects of Government by our national legislation, and the adoption of such principles as are embodied in this act.  Many of our rich men have not been content with equal protection and equal benefits, but have besought us to make them richer by act of Congress…

If we can not at once, in justice to interests vested under improvident legislation, make our Government what it ought to be, we can at least take a stand against all new grants of monopolies and exclusive privileges; against any prostitution of our Government to the advancement of the few at the expense of the many…

 

President Andrew Jackson’s veto of the bank bill, 1832

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

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