By Juan Montoya
Even before the commissioners of the City of Brownsville emerged from a workshop to consider removing Mayor Tony Martinez and Ben Neece from the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), abolishing the Audit and Oversight Committee, and filling the vacancies at the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation, the fur was flying.
Reports of the workshop held prior to the open general meeting indicate that charges and counter charges between commissioners - specifically by Rick and Jessica Tetreau against Ben Neece - alleging official oppression by Tetreau and interfering of Tetreau with police department operations by Neece charged the air prior to entering the city commission chamber.
When the item came up in the commission meeting, Neece said that the oversight committee - of which he is the chair - had already scheduled to release a Independent Audit Report submitted by Burton, McCumber and Longoria, External Auditors, focusing on the former city manager Charlie Cabler.
The committee had also placed an item on the agenda reinstating the Brownsville Code of Ethics and to pass a Whistleblower act to protect city employees who reported wrongdoing.
With four commissioners voting to abolish the committee, those issues will no longer be heard by the committee and the decision to pass them will be up to the full city commission if they so desire.
Neece said the existence of the committee was the only vehicle available to the resident of the city to learn about the alleged failure of Cabler to address reports of steering city transfer patients to an ambulance service with ties to former chief Carlos Elizondo, and to hear a complaint against Tetreau by police officers Lt. David Dale and two other officers.
After a motion and a second (by Ricardo Longoria and Joel Munguia, respectively), Neece read from a three-page prepared statement where he urged the citizens of Brownsville to take note of those who voted for the abolition of his committee, insinuating that they had voted to cover up "corruption."
He handed a copy of the independent auditors to the city secretary for it to be part of the record and available to the public. Prior to the release, city attorney Rene de Coss said the committee's audit could not be seen as a formal audit by the city. During the meeting, Neece acknowledged that some had charged his audit targeted specific individuals and denied he was out to get anyone.
The audit's release focusing heavily on Cabler ws seen by the majority as a move to discredit Cabler, who has announced he will run for mayor against either Martinez, Trey Mendez, or other candidates who may enter the race to be held next May.
Tetrau addressed interim Police Chief Paschla and said she wanted to file an oral complaint against Neece charging that by reading over their objections despite numerous calls for points of order to Martinez, he was trying to coerce her vote and deny the voice of her constituents.
In the end, not only was Neece's oversight committee abolished by the majority, but so was his membership in the MPO. He will be replaced by Longoria on a 4-3 vote.Martinez fared a little better (although he was in the losing side of three 4-3 votes), because Tetreau relented and voted against removing him as chair of the Brownsville MPO.
The city commissioners action on the naming of new GBIC members ended up with them voting to appoint Brownsville Navigation District Commissioner Esteban Guerra, Pedro Cardenas and commissioner Longoria to fill current vacancies and one at the end of the month. John Cowen, David Betancourt and De Leon, whose term end at the end of the year. will be stepping down.
This was Noel Bernal's first meeting as city manager and he landed squarely in the dogfight.
As the meeting adjourned, a voice (Martinez?) was heard saying "Welcome to Brownsville."