Wetland saga continues



Soon to be a another parking lot?

The saga of the wetlands continues in the Gateway City. Apparently, the plans are for the city to sell the 88 acre "Town Center" tract which sits across the airport instead of leasing it as was the case a few years ago.

 Mayor Salinas and councilman Vela came out on TV last week promoting the new retail center as a jobs-creator. On the other hand, the Rio Grande International Science Center (RGISC) is encouraging local residents to speak out on preserving the rare oasis. The notion is that while you can replace a retail center, the same is not true of a natural asset such as the Casa Blanca wetland area. According to RGISC, our lake sees about 200,000 visitors per year.

There were expecations that a vote on whether to sell the wetlands or not was to take place this coming Tuesday, January 22nd, at the next city council meeting. However, when the agenda appeared on the city's website, the item was nowhere to be found.  

Eagle Ford Shale: Higher Education be damned!

"College?......I no need no stinking college!"

The Laredo Morning Times is reporting on a development at United ISD that will essentially train local high school students for immediate jobs in the oil patch.

The good news is that this will probably allow entry-level oil & gas employees to work smarter and safer. The other side of the coin is : why let the oil and gas industry spend any money on training their future employees when the taxpayers can do it for them?  Oh, that and don't bother with going to college- you have any extra time on your hands and......when the boom is over- adios, hope you saved your money.


From the Laredo Morning Times

The Eagle Ford Shale is credited for creating thousands of jobs in South Texas.

UISD is set to implement a program next school year to prepare its students for the growing workforce needs of the regional oil and gas boom.

The first of its kind in the state, United Independent School District’s oil and gas academy would educate high school students in the oil and gas industry and eventually supply them with certificates that would make them more employable in that field.

On Wednesday, UISD trustees unanimously approved implementing the program. It is slated to begin in the fall.

“We want to have options for kids,” UISD Board President Judd Gilpin told Laredo Morning Times in October, when plans for the program were still preliminary. “To me, that’s the major point here.”

The oil and gas curriculum will consist of three courses available to students in grades nine through 12. It will be coordinated by the UISD career and technical education department.

With the Eagle Ford boom, district officials discovered many UISD graduates were heading into the oil patch anyway, so they figured they would offer courses that would supply them with the necessary skills for gaining employment in the industry.

Eagle Ford Shale: Trouble in Paradise

Oil and Gas website FuelFix.com is reporting that there's a lawsuit a brewing in the Eagle Ford Shale against a Houston-based oil & gas operator. I wonder who our mayor, city council and county politicos would side with? The oil and gas of course- it was just speaking rhetorically.


Several Eagle Ford oil field workers are suing Superior Energy for failing to pay them overtime, according to a court filing.

Four former employees have filed a class-action claim against Superior Energy, saying that the Houston-based services company required them to work 80 to 100 hours a week for three years without overtime pay. The plaintiffs in the suit worked as operators, providing services such as pumping, cementing and delivering materials for hydraulic fracturing in the Eagle Ford Shale in Yancey, about 50 miles west of San Antonio.

“Given the job duties of Plaintiffs and Members of the Class, Superior misclassified them all as being exempt from overtime,” wrote Edwin Sullivan, the plaintiffs’ lead attorney.

The employees are seeking back pay and legal fees, under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Under the Act, an employee who works more than 40 hours a week must be paid at least time-and-a-half for the overtime. While some exemptions exist for managers and outside sales staff, the lawsuit alleges that the employees were misclassified by the company.

In the filing, employees said that they were told they were not owed overtime because they had been paid salaries and bonuses.

Auto Registration Sticker Shock, New taxing unit

Well, it looks like the city of Laredo and the county of Webb are in cahoots to raise the price we have to pay for our motor vehicle registration.  One of the items the city will push for on their annual (tax-payer funded?) trip to Austin will be for an additional charge when you register your vehicle.

As if that weren't enough, the city/county also want to set up another taxing entity called a Regional Mobility Authority. Being that the city recently hired a consulting firm that specializes in all sorts of special taxing districts, it's not surprsing they came up with this-in a hurry.


From the Jan 22, 2013 City of Laredo Agenda

26. Amending the state legislative agenda to add the following legislative issues:

1. Support for funding for El Indio Roadway Project.

2. Support of Webb County creating a Regional Mobility Authority (RMA), in conjunction with a Transportation Reinvestment Zone (TRZ), for the development of Loop 20, as it relates to the I-69 Corridor, and said funds to be used for such use only.

3. Support of Webb County having an additional registration fee to fund the I-69 Corridor, that being State Loop 20 and U.S. Highway 59 from Loop 20 to the East Webb County line.



Editor's note
Item no 2 calls for a Regional Mobility Authority which wikipedia has the following to say about:

A Regional Mobility Authority is authorized to finance, design, construct, operate, maintain and expand a wide range of transportation facilities and services. Potential projects include highways (tolled or untolled), ferries, airports, bikeways, and intermodal hubs.

Projects can be financed using a wide range of methods, including the sale of tax-exempt revenue bonds, private equity, public grants, government loans, and revenue generated from existing transportation facilities. A Regional Mobility Authority can acquire or condemn property for projects, enter into public private partnerships, and set rates for the use of transportation facilities.

 

Please come to Texas in the Spring time

Attorney General turns into cheerleader for Texas!


(Austin American-Statesman): "Attorney General Greg Abbott Wednesday launched a Google web ad campaign inviting New Yorkers who feel their gun rights are threatened by a new law just signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, to move to Texas where they will have the right to bear arms, and, with lower taxes, more money to buy ammo.

The provocative web ads, paid for with Abbott campaign funds, will appear as a pop-up on screens on a variety of media web sites, including that of The New York Times, for those accessing the sites in Manhattan and Albany."

Laredo's credit rating reflects "above average debt burden"

Advertised as an $8 Million dollar project, Unitrade Stadium came in at a whopping $23 Million dollars.

A couple of months ago, the city patted itself on the back for it's high credit ratings. Although Moody's has rated the city's credit rating at Aa2 (behind Aaa and Aa1), it's summary does caution about the cities substantial debt. 

This is not surprising, considering the Mega-million projects recently undertaken: Unitrade Stadium, new $$$ golf course, high-priced recreation centers the city can't even afford to operate. Of course, the city keeps adding to the Arena's outstanding debt service.

Instead of better managing it's spending, they city recently acted to raise just about any and all their fees under the excuse "we haven't raised them in a while". When city council questioned a few of the rate hikes, they were quickly silenced by the city manager.


SUMMARY RATINGS RATIONALE
The rating of Aa2 reflects return to positive growth in the city's large tax base and relatively diverse economy which continues to benefit from cross border trade with Mexico, stable financial operations with maintained healthy reserves, and an above average debt burden that remains manageable.

 The stable outlook reflects expected modest continued growth in the city's large tax base in the near term, as well as our belief the city will maintain conservative budgeting practices and monitor expenditures closely to ensure financial operations remain stable and current reserve levels are maintained.

The Certificates of Obligation Series A and B are secured by an ad valorem tax levied annually, within the limits prescribed by law against all taxable property in the city and a pledge of limited surplus revenues of the city's International Toll Bridge System. The Contractual Obligations are payable from an ad valorem tax levied annually within the limits prescribed by law, against all taxable property in the city.

STRENGTHS
* Return to positive growth in the city's large tax base
* Stable financial operations and maintained healthy reserve position

CHALLENGES (aka Weaknesses)
* Historically weak socioeconomic profile
* Above average debt burden with below average payout

New Year's Tax deal in a nutshell