http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/
---------------------------------------------------------------
COUNTY DUO CONTINUES TO DOUBLE, TRIPLE, QUADRUPLE AND PENTADIP DESPITE BELT-TIGHTENING
---------------------------------------------------------------
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">By <strong>Juan Montoya</strong></div><br /><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Remember the whole controversy that erupted when the Cameron County commissioners court felt it needed to raise property taxes to balance its 2011-2012 budget?</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Well, in order to forestall a $3,000,123 million shortfall that's is exactly what they did.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Despite misgivings, the commissioners bit the bullet and approved the increase.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Not only that, but they also opted to increase bridge and pedestrian tolls as well as decrease the amount transferred to the county self-insurance fund and indigent health payments to Valley Baptist.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">They declined to forgo property-tax discounts for early payers or approve furloughs for county employees and elected officials as Pct. 1 commissioner Sofia Benavides had proposed. </div>This, supposedly, after cutting and paring all they could from the diverse county departments.<br /><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">But guess what? They missed something.</div>If they had merely inspected the salaries of two county employees, they would have discovered that these two alone (and they're not even elected officials) rake in more than $500,000 ($529,534, to be exact) in salaries and benefits alone. In fact, some could make the argument that both are guilty of double (and triple dipping, quadruple dipping and e4ven penta) dipping at taxpayers' expense.<br />We speak of County Supervisor Pete Sepulveda and his able administrative assistant David Garcia.<br /><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Below is Sepulveda 's take from the county coffers and the Regional Mobility Authority where both are also employed. The county budget filed with the County Clerk reveals that this pair is doing very well, tank you. What budget deficit?</div><br />County Airport Manager: <strong>$5,602</strong><br /><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA95eSVqZVn6gyZVmOZFPpGxbb56zBVt_YrFYDqz31hYPenk3cmG0wC2Bishil9-Es3-4diCZFcBxPdfRkKkKrnIM0f_V-Zbfg4jRQib1Zw0gq2o6cBKDPFMO_leP84Zs6VWHvUWHhGlw/s1600/pete.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA95eSVqZVn6gyZVmOZFPpGxbb56zBVt_YrFYDqz31hYPenk3cmG0wC2Bishil9-Es3-4diCZFcBxPdfRkKkKrnIM0f_V-Zbfg4jRQib1Zw0gq2o6cBKDPFMO_leP84Zs6VWHvUWHhGlw/s1600/pete.jpg" /></a>Planning and Inspection: <strong>$53,980</strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Veterans Bridge: <strong>$48,516</strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Los Indios Bridge: <strong>$19,391</strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Gateway Bridge: <strong>$14,151</strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Total (county) <strong>$141,580</strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Reg. Mob. Auth.: <strong>$75,00</strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Total (Salary): <strong>$216,580</strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">30 percent benefits (est.): <strong>$73,190</strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">(Est. Grand total): <strong>$288,770</strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br /></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Below are the same numbers for Garcia:</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Planning and Inspection (asst.): <strong>$56,089</strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_dQQgv4FcR-iQsSLEot8Ml3DXRfOY5cnaWBhRnzp5DHkd-IvgH9IC1GX4HLjUfHBiqT0fUfW5MgDrP6uF4p9G-0HtYeOMFeXUAlEK9QsvjbrrxQh6vab62A7sm6m4L_TeVJcbS7ZxChI/s1600/U_David_Garcia_TT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_dQQgv4FcR-iQsSLEot8Ml3DXRfOY5cnaWBhRnzp5DHkd-IvgH9IC1GX4HLjUfHBiqT0fUfW5MgDrP6uF4p9G-0HtYeOMFeXUAlEK9QsvjbrrxQh6vab62A7sm6m4L_TeVJcbS7ZxChI/s1600/U_David_Garcia_TT.jpg" /></a>Veterans Bridge (Assistant): <strong>$16,222</strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Los Indios Bridge (Asst.): <strong>$16,222</strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Gateway Bridge (Asst.): <strong>$17,121</strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Total (County) <strong>$105,654</strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Reg. Mob. Auth.: <strong>$75,000</strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Total (Salary) <strong>$180,654</strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">30 percent benefits (est.): <strong>$60,210</strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">(Est. Grand Total): <strong>$240,864</strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br /></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Some interesting questions arise from these obscene figures; When these two gents are full-time workers for the RMA, why are they still getting paid by the county? And when Sepulveda takes Garcia on travel (which he always does), do the county taxpayers still pay him for not being here? </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">They each make more than General Manager John S. Bruciak, PE, $184,059, and he runs a multi-million utility and development enterprise. The top salary at the Brownsville Independent School District is listed as the superintendent Carl Montoya at $190,000. In fact, these two make more than the director of the Port of Brownsville Eddei Campirano ($175,000 plus another $8,400 auto allowance).</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">About the only one that makes more than them is UTB's Juliet Garcia, who's been working that racket for the last 20 years and now rakes in some $336,000. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">How was this allowed to happen? And will this double- and triple-dipping continue while taxpayers have to dish out more money to balance these gentlemen's budgets? </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Their idea of cutting budgets? </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">When Garcia was asked about ideas he might suggest to trim the fat by Pct. 2 Commissioner Ernie Hernandez, he though long and hard and said that if they eliminated a mail-room position ($25,000 a year) held by a new hire, they could make a dent in the deficit.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">And we pay $240,000 for that?</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6016803033174468094-3246002678088103830?l=rrunrrun.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>
LINK: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2012/01/county-duo-continues-to-double-triple.html
RSS URL: http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss
This email sponsored by:
1&1 Internet - 6 Months Free on new Hosting packages
http://www.1and1.com/?k_id=7538907
This email is a service of QuickThreads.com.
To manage your subscriptions, login here:
http://www.quickthreads.com/myaccount.php
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
No comments:
Post a Comment