City commission to take action

Plans to waive late fees, postpone disconnections, start first rate rollback

PUB Forensic Examination: Second in a Series

After a hurricane of emotion from several residents during Tuesday’s Brownsville City Commission meeting, commissioners discussed options, such as amending the city charter and pausing utility bill late fees and disconnections.

Many residents expressed anger and disapproval, saying it was not enough to place John Bruciak, Brownsville Public Utilities Board general manager and chief executive officer, on a paid 60-day administrative leave. The decision was announced during a BPUB special meeting Monday, according to Cleiri Quezada, BPUB senior communications and public relations coordinator.

On Nov. 1, 2021, the City of Brownsville engaged Carr, Riggs & Ingram LLC, a certified public accounting and advisory firm, to investigate the utility board’s activities leading up to and after an agreement with Tenaska Inc., an international power development company, to build a local natural gas-fired generating station, according to the CRI Forensic Examination Report.

Utility rate increases were implemented to fund the project, which never came to fruition. Now, as voiced by residents during the meeting, many BPUB customers cannot afford their bills and continue to fall behind.

One resident who spoke during public comment at the commission meeting, Agripina Gomez, said she nearly got disconnected a second time and that others in the community are experiencing the same thing.

“I see the PUB truck pull up on my driveway, and I go outside running with my baby, and I see, ‘Hey, what’s going on?’” Gomez said. “And they wanted to shut off my light. Last month, I got cut off and I had to pay the $75 fee to reconnect and now they wanted to do it again. … I didn’t receive a courtesy call. … I didn’t receive anything.”

She called for an investment in clean energy and for accountability across the board.

“We need more than to have Mr. Bruciak on, you know, vacation leave,” Gomez said.

During the public hearing on the amendment to Ordinance 2022-1702, City Attorney Victor Flores said only state and federal agencies have the jurisdiction to assert charges against those involved in the Tenaska Project.

“I’ve connected [Carr, Riggs & Ingram] with the federal agency and instructed them to provide them with any documents they might request,” Flores said. “… The city and city attorney’s office will continue cooperating with all investigating authorities.”

The city charter currently allows BPUB to act as its own entity with full authority over the utilities systems.

A long-term solution would be to revise the charter so the commission can better regulate the utilities board; however, this cannot be done until May 2023 because revisions are limited to once every two years, according to Flores.

The city attorney also presented current legal options, which include the commission’s approval of an advance rollback date on utility rates. Flores said commissioners could approve the change since the utilities board already authorized a 22% rollback on utility bills, which the commission approved during an April 19 meeting, and gave the city discretion over when to implement it.

To do this, the commission would need to amend Ordinance 2022-1702, which states that the 22% rollback would be implemented in two phases, each consisting of an 11% rollback, the first originally set to take effect June 2023.

Flores recommended directing city staff to begin gathering information that relates to a charter election so the revisions can be made.

District 2 City Commissioner Jessica Tetreau, Mayor Trey Mendez, City Commissioner At-Large “B” Rose Gowen, District 3 City Commissioner Roy De Los Santos and District 4 City Commissioner Pedro Cardenas all agreed revisions must be made as soon as possible, but that it was important to do so carefully, because if something is missed, the charter would be locked in for another two years.

De Los Santos asked if a special election could be held in 2023, so the commission would not rush to make a May deadline, which Flores confirmed.

City Commissioner At-Large “A” John Cowen Jr. brought up the $29 million that BPUB has in a Tenaska equity fund, and said the city should also calculate what it received from rate increases and pay the citizens back.

“There is a component that the City of Brownsville received from the rate increases as well during that time,” Cowen said. “… The city should do its part in calculating that. It’s the ratepayers’ money.”

Tetreau agreed.

District 1 City Commissioner Nurith Galonsky Pizaña said she understands everyone’s frustration and the desire to see things happen quickly.

“If it looks like we’re not moving fast enough, it’s because there are these rules and guidelines in place to give everyone an opportunity to do what they need to do,” Pizaña said. “… Just because this report came out does not mean that it’s the final word of truth. … We are working as quickly as we can and within the rules.”

The commission unanimously voted to approve the amendment of Ordinance 2022-1702 on first reading to make the rate reduction effective sooner.

After the meeting, Mendez issued the following statement on Facebook:

“Today, the City Commission voted to move up the date for a previously scheduled 11% reduction in electric rates for PUB. The action will require a second reading at our next meeting, and will go into effect in a few weeks instead of June 2023.

“Further, last night the PUB Board voted to postpone disconnections and waive late fees until February 2023. This will require approval of the City Commission, which we intend to do within the next week through a special meeting.

“Thank you to everyone who has voiced concerns. Understand that we are doing as much as we can as a city commission.”