The Edinburg City Council convened for a meeting that took a turn when Councilmember Homer Jasso Jr. commented on the “childish political moves” among his fellow members.
After the Council recognized the Dancentre of Edinburg Junior Elite team last Tuesday for its National Championship title, Jasso asked Mayor Richard Molina for the floor.
“[I] have been here seven years and never have I ever seen such childish political moves,” Jasso said. “You know, to move a city councilmember from his seat originally, to move him outside, away from everyone else is beyond me and I have never seen it.”
Jasso commented on the fact that he had been moved from his seat between Councilmember Gilbert Enriquez and City Manager Pilar Rodriguez to the far right of the table. Rodriguez is now seated next to the mayor.
Jasso said the councilmembers should be ashamed of themselves. The dispute went on between Enriquez and Jasso but ended when Jasso proceeded to call Enriquez an “idiot.”
Molina cut off Jasso and said that he was out of order and that he should not have used that language.
“You would overstep your boundaries,” Molina said, “and you would ruin the moment for young ladies that were out here, but you were completely out of order with your language.”
The mayor carried on with the rest of the meeting and proceeded to the public comment section of the meeting. Fern McClaugherty, a member of the Objective Watchers of the Legal System (OWLS), addressed some issues brought up by the public. McClaugherty said OWLS is an organization that serves to take opinions from the public and relay them to Rio Grande Valley public officials.
She reminded the councilmembers of their duties and promises made to the residents of Edinburg during their election and when they were sworn in. She said they had promised to remove corruption and address issues leading to higher taxes.
“Now that you’re in office, the response seems to be that there is nothing you can do,” McClaugherty said. “The people need to keep paying for facilities and improvements that they did not approve.”
She noted that the Bert Ogden Arena would cost the people of Edinburg $80 million by the time the bonds are paid off and that is not including the management fees, drainage improvement, and the park and recreational facilities for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.
During the first public hearing on the proposed tax revenue increase for Fiscal Year 2019, McClaugherty asked “how much direct revenue will be received by these facilities and what is the loss in tax revenue by having these facilities.”
On Aug. 9, the Council voted in favor of keeping the tax rate at $0.6350 per $100 of assessed valuation.
Although the 2018-2019 proposed tax rate will remain at $0.6350, according to the agenda packet, if adopted, it will increase property tax revenues by 4.03 percent over the effective tax rate. The property tax revenue increase is attributed mainly to property value increase, new improvements and new annexations.
Of the $0.6350, $0.09 is for interest and the sinking fund. Rodriguez said that out of the total collection of that tax, “about $226,000” will be used for the debt service payment for the arena and the wellness center.
According to Enriquez, the city indirectly paid for the arena by purchasing land from the Edinburg Economic Development Center. He described it as “creative financing” because the purchase freed the EEDC from some debt and allowed the EEDC to finance the arena.
Finance Director Ascencion Alonzo said the city purchased the property by issuing bonds, which are paid by tax revenue.
Enriquez said he understands the benefits of the arena but does not like the way the city had to get it and hopes the public understands what happened.
“I am not against the arena. I am against the structure of the agreement and how it leveraged our taxpayer dollars for the next 30 years and no one seems to understand that except this idiot over here,” he said, while gesturing in the direction of Jasso.
The proposed budget is under review and the second public hearing on the proposed tax increase is scheduled at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.
In other business, the Council approved a permit and fee waiver for the Follow the Golden Brick Road Fun Run for childhood cancer awareness and the Step Up for Down Syndrome Awareness Walk.
