"No Mis-appropriations" but plenty of Shenanigans

The Laredo Morning Times headline was misleading to say the least. The front page of Sunday's LMT read "No Misappropriation". It went on to report that, in the final analysis, all the money from the recent fisaco-filled mud race was "there".  However, the headline fails to convey the many detours and contortions the money took before all of it was magically accounted for.

Consider the following excerpt for instance:

Bernie Chapa, of Ciclomania, the pre-registration site, arrived at City Hall on Sept. 19 to submit the remaining balance.

He provided $650 from credit card transactions and $2,300 in wads of cash that he pulled from his pockets.

At that time, the city called LPD.

Chapa initially told the city that only $650 in credit card transactions was pending.

Rosario Camarillo Cabello, the city’s finance director, then told San Miguel that about $2,000 was still missing.

The next day, Chapa turned in the $650 as well as $2,300 in cash.

Chapa told LPD that he did not turn in the additional money the day before because he was told by Clarissa Rangel, the city’s assistant parks and leisure services director, to not give it to San Miguel.

Muddying the truth further was this conflicting report involving Parks and Leisure Director Osbaldo Guzman, San Miguel himself and Maria Perez, who works as a clerk for the city.

Parks and leisure services department employees, meanwhile, believed that the director, Guzman, was “fully aware” that San Miguel took custody of the money, the report states.

Maria Perez, a city clerk who assisted in setting up the event, told city staff that Guzman directed her to give San Miguel the money collected.

But she said she told him that she had just bought the collections box and did not want to give it to the councilman.

She also told staff that she remembered San Miguel saying that he needed to go deposit the collections received.

She added that this was the first time collections had been given to a council member. In the past, it was always deposited through the city, she said.

Guzman dismissed the claims, saying that he did not direct anyone to give the collections to San Miguel.

And he told investigators that he did not know that San Miguel took the money.

“Conflicting statements were obtained from the … personnel as to whether (Guzman) gave orders to turn over monies to (San Miguel),” the LPD report states.

In a van, by the (Mud) river!  If all of this smacks of incompetence, read how the LMT reports the money was handled at the event.

The money was placed in a van that was parked on site.

The money was left unsecured in the van for several hours, the report states.

At the end of the event, San Miguel took the money home.

He told LPD investigators that he didn’t think it was a problem and said he was not aware of a money handling policy.

And for the icing of the cake :

After conducting its investigation, LPD presented the case to District Attorney Isidro Alaniz and Assistant District Attorney Marisela Jacaman.

The report, obtained by Laredo Morning Times on Saturday, states that the district attorney’s office would not prosecute the case due to a lack of evidence.

Precedent for Laredo nepotism case

The city continues to either be or play ignorant in regards to the nepotism charges being levied against it.  LT has recently posted a copy of the lawsuit filed by Laredo Gerry Garcia against the city of Laredo and some of its officials.

Keyrose of La Sanbe even went to the lengths of trying to make some sense of the whole fiasco and spoke to an assistant city attorney.

As VIDA has mentioned before, there is already a precedent for a home-rule city such as Laredo to impose nepotism prohibitions as it pertains to the hiring of firefighters and police officers.

For your consideration, VIDA has previously asserted the following:


The Texas Supreme Court has held that a municipality can further legislate in areas of Civil Service Law which are not already comprehensively covered by the Act. This is necessary because without further restriction to the chapter 143 qualification, cities and municipalities could not disqualify applicants who may have been convicted of numerous misdemeanors, who had unsatisfactory employment records, a history of mental illness, or a background of moral or fiscal irresponsibility which would make them unfit to serve in either the fire or police departments. 

Chapter 143 will not limit a home rule city's, authority to impose additional entrance requirements on police and fire fighter applicants unless the legislative intent to do so is clear. 

 There are a number of cases that have upheld city ordinances in the face of Chapter 143 challenges.  In Collier v. Firemen's and Policemen's Civil Service Commission of Wichita Falls, the court held that the Commission could adopt, and Chapter 143 did not preclude use of, anti- nepotism rule for hiring into the city's fire department.

 

Furthermore, the Texas Attorney General has ruled that “[t]he governing body of a home-rule city may not, by ordinance, override a provision of the city charter...."

Para los borrachines!



Orale! Donde esta ese #@*#! Oktoberfest ?

LMT finally reports of city nepotism lawsuit

From Friday's Laredo Morning Times

A lawsuit has been filed against the City of Laredo and Councilman Charlie San Miguel, claiming alleged violation of the City Charter’s nepotism clause.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, cites San Miguel’s two sons, Carlos and Roberto San Miguel, and their admittance to the fire academy.

The plaintiff, Gerry Garcia, states that Mayor Raul Salinas, City Manager Carlos Villarreal, City Attorney Raul Casso and Fire Chief Steve Landin were aware of the fire cadets’ close relation to the councilman.

The charter states that no member of the council, city board or commission shall appoint someone within three degrees of direct relation to a city position.

The lawsuit adds that city official’s behavior “is typical of the patron system that has continued to be pervasive of the City of Laredo, political and governing system.”

City Attorney Raul Casso, in a letter last month, wrote that San Miguel’s sons are not subject to the nepotism clause because Laredo firefighters’ collective bargaining agreement with the city does not address nepotism.

The City Charter does not, by name, address the fire and police departments.

The plaintiff is requesting San Miguel’s sons be dismissed from the academy and that San Miguel and the city officials be removed from office for alleged violation of the City Charter.

Garcia’s attorney, Sergio “Keko” Martinez, could not be reached for comment.
On Monday, City Council voted unanimously to formally request a City Council nepotism prohibition from the police and fire civil service commission in its civil service rules.

San Miguel withheld his vote.


See the lawsuit documents at :
http://laredovida.weebly.com/uploads/1/3/5/1/13515808/gerry_garcia_v_city_of_laredo__charlie_sanmiguel_-_2012cvt001448d2.pdf
 

LISD Class size: Board member Hector Garcia - "I personally don't have a problem with 25 to 1.

Excerpted from today's Laredo Morning Times

More than half of LISD classrooms in grades kindergarten through fourth may exceed class-size limits if the board of trustees approves a district recommendation later this month.

Laredo Independent School District trustees and staff met Tuesday morning in a curriculum and instruction committee meeting in which administration suggested a teacher-student ratio of 25:1 in grades kindergarten through first and 26:1 in second grade through fourth.

That would require the district to apply for a waiver from the Texas Education Agency, which regulates public primary and secondary education.

The state-mandated class-size limit in grades kindergarten through fourth is 22:1.

Last year, 46 percent of the district’s classrooms in those grades exceeded the state cap.

The state has increasingly granted school districts class size waivers in light of $5.4 billion in cuts made to public education in the 2011 Legislature.

Meeting state standards for classroom size would necessitate hiring additional teachers, which the district says would be too costly.

“Oftentimes, when you go to that 23rd student, that triggers an additional (staff member),” said Linda Theret, LISD assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction.

Bringing all classrooms grades kindergarten through four to a 22:1 ratio, it would mean adding seven teachers, said David Garza, LISD human resources executive director.

It would also require administration to transfer students to other campuses so as to achieve a balance in the teacher-student ratio.

LISD hopes to avoid doing that.

With two board members present, including Jesus Martinez and Hector “Tito” Garcia, board opinion was not apparent during the meeting, but Garcia said he is on board with the recommendation.“I personally don’t have a problem with 25:1,” he said.


However, A. Marcus Nelson, LISD superintendent, said he has heard “different concerns” on class sizes in visits with other board members.

The exemption would apply to 19 of the district’s 20 elementary school, the exception being D.D. Hachar.

The highest student-teacher ratio, in the district’s recommendation, is in kindergarten at Gallego Elementary, with a 27.5:1 ratio.

LaredoTejas editor's note:
Mr. Garcia, of course you don't have a problem with that. You don't have to teach 25 4-5 year olds in one room and you probably don't live in the district so chances are you don't have any kids releated to you at these schools either!

VIDA's website: The city's selling of our water

The latest article on Vida's website continues to expose the City of Laredo's apparently unabated practice of selling our precious water to fracking and other industrial companies at rates lower than those of our citizens.

Please take some time to read the article for yourself at:

http://laredovida.weebly.com/why-is-the-city-of-laredo-failing-to-protect-our-potable-water.html

It's official: You can be a reckless public official and nothing will be done

The fellow-council members of embattled city councilman Charlie San Miguel lamented that there was nothing they could to do because, according to them, San Miguel had not done anything that would merit him being removed.

 

For starters, they could have each publicly called for his resignation-which they did not do.  Sure, they chastised him in public but obviously condone his behavior. Instead of following the lead of VIDA in asking for his resignation, they simply scolded him and did not even give him a slap on the hand.

 

Let it be known, that on the current city council, it is therefore OK to be reckless and nothing will happen to you as  a result.

 

The newly-adopted City of Laredo's Code of Ethics ( which at present is but a joke along with the city charter) defines "recklessly" as follows.

 

Acting with reckless abandon at city council

 

 

(bb) Recklessly. A person acts recklessly, or

IS reckless, with respect to circumstances surrounding his conduct or the result of his conduct when he is aware of but consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the circumstances exist or the result will occur.

 

The risk must be of such a nature and degree that its disregard constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care that an ordinary person would exercise under all the circumstances as viewed from the actor's standpoint.