Dear Friends and Media,
Unlike the 2012 Quality of Life Bond ($473,250,000) and the 2019 Ysleta School Bond ($425,000,000), the 2019 Public Safety Bond ($413,000,000) has no bond overview advisory committee.
At the City Council meeting on December 10, 2019 under Agenda Item 19.1, four City Council representatives (Svarzbein, Annello, Hernandez, and Lizarraga) voted in favor of creating such a committee and four voted against (Morgan, Salcido, Ordaz-Perez, and Rivera).
Mayor Dee Margo broke the tie in favor of killing the initiative, agreeing with City staff and the unions representing the police and firefighters that citizen oversight of the bond expenditures would slow down the roll outs of the bond projects.
So incredibly, there is zero citizen oversight of the $413 million Public Safety Bond!
This is the kind of thing that happens in third-world dictatorships and failed communist states.
It is not supposed to happen in a constitutional republic with democratically elected officers.
Welcome to the City of El Paso!
This morning I reported that Fire Station 38 is projected to cost $1,180 per square foot, yet because there is no bond overview advisory committee, there is no mechanism for the citizens of El Paso to question this expenditure.
All we can do is sit back and watch our hard-earned money flushing down the toilet.
Enjoy your afternoon.
Max