DID YOU KNOW...
The City is short on income by more than a million dollars.
The City is a million and a quarter dollars under budget on expenses.
The vast majority of income has been received for the current fiscal year.....
but there are still 5 more months of expenses.
In a shocking expose based on the current City of Wilmer Profit & Loss statement, mayoral candidate Joe Aldrich blasted the City Council on fiscal irresponsibility and the budget. The City planned to overspend current income by $4,900 according to the published budget figures. Last year's budget doesn't seem to be quite in balance. It doesn't take an accounting background to see a problem here, just take a look.
No "red flags" appear in the report because everything is "under budget", so almost any expenditure the City cares to dream up (like the Dewberry drainage project) can be said to be in the current budget. The problem is the income shortage of over a million dollars and the vast majority of property tax proceeds already received, and little chance of significant additional revenue in the remaining months in the current fiscal year. All the while, expenses continue to accrue regardless of the availability of funds to pay the bills.
The City Council approved a budget with known deficiencies, such as the tremendous over estimation of permit income because Whirlpool's windfall last year wasn't factored out of the proposed budget. At time of adoption, the budget was known to have overstated $135,000 in permit fees alone.
No wonder those special public funds accumulating in the Economic and Community Development Corporation accounts seem so irresistible to the City Council - Wilmer only has a bit over $175,000 in the bank to last over the next 5 months - each of the development corps has a similar amount of money in their accounts currently. Perhaps this is why these development corporation boards can't seem to get enough cooperation from the City to be able to schedule a meeting and the directors can't get access to the financial records.
At the time the budget was being discussed in public hearings, last year's new council was in a huge battle with Jeff Steele. It's beginning to look like they may have approved a budget with the intent of embarrassing Mr. Steele and then forgot to repair the damage once in office - so now eight months into the fiscal year, they've neglected to come to grips with the issues and the responsibility lies solely on the current occupants of the seats in the governing body to repair the problem. After several budget workshops, why have no corrections or changes been made? How much is this going to cost US?
Read more!
Friday, May 4, 2012
Frankly, City Finances are in Sad Shape
Public Hearing - Council Plans Not Our Business
After some scathing comments and a extensive community interest discussion, the business of the Public Hearing on next year's Community Development Block Grand program funds was quite revealing. The City Council's plans for the money is none of our (We the People's) business according to Mayor A.H. Casarez. The public hearing about the next year's Community Development Block Grant funds got off to a bit of a slow start because there was no introduction by the council on the scope of funds or any description about what projects could be funded. First the audience in general asked how much money we were talking about: answer $104,000. The next general question about what the funds could be used for was answered by Ms. Birdwell about what past grant funds had been used for. A couple of citizens had some suggestions to fix certain roads or sewer issues, but it was evident there wasn't to be any discussion or dialog between the citizens and the council on the relative merits or potential consideration of the suggestions brought forth. This reporter questioned the City Council: What projects, proposals or plans does the City Council have for these funds, what's already being considered? Mayor Casarez answered that the city council's intentions were "nothing we'd care to discuss at this time". Unbelievable. The taxpaying citizens aren't entitled to know what the elitist city council is already planning to do with our public money. The public hearing was a mockery - the only things the citizens were going to hear was each other's great ideas about the greater good to put these monies to work in our community. Mr. Turner tried to engage the council in some discussion of use of these funds, but was "shut down" by Pena who said the public hearing was for "hearing from the public" - Pena was totally against SHARING anything with the public and would not participate in any discussion. The incredible hubris and contempt for public opinion openly displayed for all the VOTERS to see is an embarrassment to the entire council and most certainly does not help "A.H." Casarez in his bid for the mayor's seat. Read more!
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Fire Hydrant Repaired on North Goode Road
UNTIL JUST TUESDAY APRIL 17 -
Evidently the residents and businesses along North Goode Road have had virtually no Fire protection since at least last October, according to Wilmer Water Superintendent Mike McVea, although the document received on April 9 from the City is clearly dated 4/5/2011. Click Here to View the List of Out of Service Fire Hydrants.
A leak on former mayor Don Hudson's property the last week in March prompted an inspection of the water service along both sides of North Goode Road. Only two fire hydrants exist, about half a mile apart - BOTH fire hydrants were covered in black plastic, "out of service". As of Tuesday, April 17, the fire hydrant next to the old "Red Dog Saloon" across from Hudson's property was repaired. The hydrant south of the creek bridge near Cottonwood Valley and Richmond continues to be "out of service".
According to Fire Chief Marcus Smith, he had been informed that a number of fire hydrants were "out of service". Water Superintendent McVea confirmed that he "bagged" the inoperable hydrants when he joined the City last October and forwarded a list of their locations to the Fire Department. Chief Smith also stated that the City Fire Truck carries 1000 feet of hose and the City can assemble up to 3500 feet of hose with outside assistance from other fire fighting companies. We requested and received a copy of the memo detailing the locations of the out of service fire hydrants.
While no definite repair schedule could be determined, Water Superintendent McVea promptly returned our calls to ascertain the details of the "out of service" hydrants the first week in April. He stated that a number of hydrants were out of service in various locations and that at least one was scheduled to be repaired in the next week, although he did not have that location at the time he spoke with this reporter. Upon visiting and inspecting each location on April 15, it appears all of the hydrants have NOW been repaired EXCEPT the one on North Goode Road South of the bridge and one hydrant at Millers Ferry & Patrick Pike that is partially uncovered and could be functional. There are additional fire hydrants at acceptable intervals along Millers Ferry, however, given the proximity to GWG Wood Group, lack of a fully functional fire hydrant in that location presents a health and safety risk issue.
The problem for the residences and businesses along North Goode Road is that the nearest fire hydrants are in Wilmer Heights on Richmond and in Sunridge Business Park on Distribution Drive. Both locations are far in excess of the 1000 feet of firehose available on the City's Firetruck.
With the newly repaired hydrant on North Goode, most residents and existing businesses can now be serviced (except for those three houses immediately adjacent to the creek and along Cottonwood Valley).
Hopefully, the progress on providing fire protection to all Wilmer residents will continue.
Read more!
Friday, August 19, 2011
School Zone Speeding Ticket? Apply for a Refund!
Wilmer Citizen Activist, in public information requests has determined that the City of Wilmer has prosecuted 529 individuals for the crime of "Speeding in a School Zone" to the tune of $165,852since Wilmer Academy began operation in August 2009 - WITHOUT an ordinance creating a school zone. YOU COULD BE DUE A REFUND AND CLEANED DRIVING RECORD.
What if the City Council never adopted an ordinance declaring a school zone and just threw up some new signs and started issuing tickets and collecting money? What if the City did declare just one School Zone in an ordinance - where the old elementary school is on Walnut Street - but definitely not on Belt Line or Dallas Avenue where you got your ticket?
This is EXACTLY what happened, the charter school came in, new school zone signs were erected near the intersection of Belt Line Road & Dallas Avenue, the old signs were removed from Dallas Ave, Walnut Street and College/Kissell. The ordinance declaring the Walnut Street school zone was left intact, nothing was repealed, no new ordinance was created to replace the existing school zone ordinance.
"Unlawful Prosecution" doesn't even rate as a crime, but this situation is definitely one of unlawful prosecution because there is no violation of law. The depth of the collusion implicates both the entire Municipal Court and Police Department - as well as any attorney acting to prosecute the charges. Obviously, this is just a mere oversight, a clerical error, an exigent circumstance to be waived away as a minor inconvenience. We all know ignorance of the law is no excuse - that applies equally to those who uphold the law as well as those who violate it.
At a minimum, we've discovered egregious violations of due process rights for at least 529 individuals - roughly equivalent to one-in-six Wilmer residents!
This is nothing less than racketeering, an ongoing criminal enterprise, denying the citizens of due process, unlawfully collecting penalties for non-violations, defrauding the tax payers, generally obstructing justice and intentionally tampering with government records. Couple this with an unknown number of additional charges and a few custodial arrests and the potential liability claims of the victims of the City's unlawful acts are extreme.
As a potential victim, you have a choice of whether to join a class of similar victims in a class action against the City of Wilmer, or complain to the criminal authorities about the civil rights violations. Then there's always the State's Victim Fund.
Having discovered the current state of the City's finances, any class action litigation probably wouldn't net enough funds to cover the cost of litigation. Besides, any settlements are going to have to come out of the taxpayers' pocket - probably your own pocket eventually.
There are a number of remedies which seem appropriate in this matter:
EXPUNCTION - fix the victims's driving & court records eliminating the conviction,
REFUND any fines, fees & court costs,
CEASE the enforcement of school zone speeding and remove all the signs from the streets.
THEN perhaps the City can work on actually solving the legal dilemma by writing a new school zone ordinance and repealing the old one. Whatever the resolution, it's never going to be enough in my mind to adequately compensate the victims of this travesty for their time, money and continuing expense in increased insurance premiums, not to mention the emotional trauma and other damages sustained by the City of Wilmer's capricious administration.
Read more!
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Dual Office Holding - The May 19 Conspiracy
The Mayor and past City Council, with the complicity of City Secretary Alice Holloway did evade and ignore the Dual Office Holding prohibitions in the Texas Constitution and violate Texas Government Code Section 574 as a result of deliberations in an Executive Session during the May 19 City Council Meeting.
See Our Documents Online Section at the end of this Article for copies of all the documents.
As a result of deliberations in CLOSED Executive Session with the City Attorney, the City of Wilmer conferred, by ordinance, dual offices on Marcus Smith in violation of Article XVI, Section 40, of the Texas Constitution and Texas Government Code Chapter 574 Dual Office Holding prohibitions. The City, engaged in fraudulent employment contracts, awarding the City Secretary job to both Smith and Holloway and obligating the City's funds on all contracts beyond the current fiscal period. As a result, employment agreements were executed with Marcus Smith enjoying the positions of City Secretary by contract - and Fire Chief and Code Enforcement Officer by appointment statement and oath.
Mayor Steele has maintained that the signing of the employment agreement with Marcus Smith as City Secretary was merely a clerical error and has refused to deal with the issue. However, since Alice Holloway occupied that position at the time the agreement with Marcus Smith was executed, a fraudulent contract was executed with both Smith and Holloway at the direction of the City Council - without the advice of the City Attorney. The fact that until the acceptance of her resignation as City Secretary at the August 4 City Council meeting, Alice Holloway retained some statutory standing as City Secretary, clouded by the contractual claim held by Marcus Smith. The expenditure of taxpayer funds for an interim replacement while allowing two conflicting claims by contract as well as statute doesn't seem to fit any reasonable standard of accountability.
Judicial action on dual office holding violations requires an "emolument" be received in more than one position. Perhaps Alice Holloway receives some benefits from Wilmer while serving in her new post, a cell phone perhaps or Internet device or service, an insurance benefit, anything of value? We have no idea what kind of severance package she may have enjoyed.
The City may claim Marcus Smith is not, does not and will not assume the duties of the City Secretary, however, the City has not invalidated his employment contract. The City may claim the Marcus Smith received only one salary as Fire Chief although the executed contract clearly indicates his salary as City Secretary. The City Administration may have planned this as part of some "fraud conspiracy" as there is no enabling ordinance or authority for a fire department nor fire chief in the City of Wilmer and one way to ensure Chief-Enforcer Smith's continued employment would be to execute a contract for a position authorized by statute.
The City also furnishes a take home vehicle for Smith's use. All of Smith's "code enforcement" activities are conducted using this vehicle. Mr. Smith obviously uses this taxpayer furnished resource outside the confines of his official duties as we've all seen him shopping and other errands while driving the vehicle. No matter, the mere fact that the City furnishes a vehicle for his convenience while acting as the "unpaid" Code Enforcement Officer constitutes an "emolument" by most standards.
Public Information Requests regarding Mr. Smith's financial records with the City of Wilmer have thus far only yielded expenses in the role of Code Enforcement Officer. There have not been any other records yet returned as the result of our public information inquiries. Interesting to note that although the City furnishes a vehicle for Mr. Smith's take-home use, Smith's expense reports show he uses his personal vehicle and receives a mileage allowance when traveling on the City's business for training. Strange that one would choose to use a personal vehicle rather than one supplied by one's employer for job related travel unless there was a pecuniary gain or advantage.
The dismissal of Fire Chief/Code Enforcer/Secretary Marcus Smith might seem to solve the immediate problem. Unfortunately, the collusion among the city council and other city officers to defraud the taxpayers (by contract) and violate the Texas Constitution (GC 574, PC 39.02) by naming one person to two of the four "officer positions" created by ordinance is an unavoidably intentional and willfull act not in accordance with statute or other law.
The City then executed two Oath and Affirmation statements for Mr. Smith's dual offices in the official government documents in the public record. Certainly, our elected officials have every right to claim ignorance of the law - although perhaps criminal stupidity in this instance. With an officer of the court present the council should have received something remotely resembling competent legal counsel - which of course the council is free to ignore and stumble over statute blindly and willingly. According to the City Attorney, he didn't draft or review the contracts, so it appears that Holloway and the Council made all the clerical errors.
The good taxpayers of Wilmer demand the ouster of Marcus Smith for these reasons.
The good taxpayers also DEMAND that our elected officials pay the price for their intentional wanton disregard for the Constitution and Laws of the State of Texas which they have all sworn to uphold and by their acts violated that oath and the public trust.
Finally, the taxpayers and citizens of Wilmer demand that the City retain COMPETENT LEGAL COUNSEL to protect us from the ignorant acts of our elected officials and the consequences of these acts on the taxpayers and residents.
[ED NOTE: Some of our references in preparing this article]
Public Officers: Traps for the Unwary
Office of the Attorney General (2004)
page 3 Common Law Conflict of Interest Meyers v. Walker
pages 32-47 Dual Office Holding
Texas Government Code TITLE 5. SUBTITLE B. Ethics
Chapter 574. Dual Office Holding
DOCUMENTS ONLINE
Ordinance Declaring Municipal Officers
Smith City Secretary Contract
Smith Oath Affirmation Fire Chief
Smith Oath Affirmation Code Enforcement
Holloway Oath Affirmation City Secretary
Holloway City Secretary Contract
Burns Oath Affirmation Building Official
Burns Building Official Contract
Kemp Oath Affirmation Police Chief
Kemp Police Chief Contract
Read more!
Friday, August 5, 2011
Mayoral Conduct Stuns Citizens at Meeting
The City Council Meeting of August 4th was a hot one indeed. The new City Council exercised it's powers and authority, questioning the accuracy of the recorded minutes, and standing firm on certain expenses - the Mayor's "lividity" was evident to everyone after ejecting two citizens, slandering a third and threatening to have Alderman Pena forcibly removed from the dais. The Mayor left the dais along with Vandygriff and Turner, leaving a seated quorum to conclude the public business.
The citizens assembled didn't appreciate the Mayor's comportment from the very beginning of the meeting. The Citizen's comments were somewhat lengthy and protracted due to a procession of complainants regarding the City's excessive permits, fees & requirements. One speaker, later ejected by the Mayor, researched the CDBG grant funds and found they could be used for water improvements and wanted the Council to have that information as there was an agenda item regarding those funds. The Spanish language petitioner with Alderman Pena translating took quite some time in relation to other speakers. At the beginning of Steele's administration the minimum residential building permit was $25, today it is $750 given the resident's accounts of statements from the City's Building Official.
After admitting in the August 4th issue of the Ellis County Press that he "paid the bills" without City Council approval to save the city $11,000 in late payment fees to the State Comptroller, Mayor Steele should have understood that there would be no "consent" on the consent items.
[ED NOTE: CLICK HERE to read our companion story "ECP: Steele Pays Bills Without Council Approval]
He joined the consideration of the two regular consent items, approval of minutes of prior meetings and the expenses items, only to have Vandygriff move to discuss the issues separately when the approval of the minutes lead to an extended discussion of their accuracy and portrayal of the events in question at the prior meetings, specifically motions and the paying of certain expenses.
It was during Alderman Pena's briefing on progress with the Water Task Force highlighting the lack of cooperation from City Hall in establishing the planning groundwork for proceeding with water improvements task force that the crowd began to percolate. One woman was ejected by Officer Sawyer at the Mayor's insistence and threatened with a citation.
Another woman seated near the woman ejected was told by the Mayor that the City has two jail cells and he was sure she had already seen the inside of them, whereupon Mr. Pena demanded an apology for such an insulting affront to a citizen among a group of citizens assembled. The mayor requested the woman apologize for "calling me a son of a bitch" whereupon again Alderman Pena remonstrated him for offensive language and Steele replied that "son of a bitch" wasn't a bad word or offensive enough to be considered disorderly conduct. The woman who had been insulted corrected the mayor and replied that she hadn't used that phrase, she just agreed with the previously ejected woman who had used the term. Steele insincerely apologized.
In short order, comments from the citizens assembled resulted in more persons being ejected from the council chambers over Alderman Pena's repeated objections. The Mayor stated that he would have Mr Pena removed if he so desired, citing some recent event in the City of Duncanville.
ED NOTE:
No reporter was present after the second citizen was ejected until the meeting recessed for Executive Session.
After returning from the Executive Session, the Mayor called for motions resulting from the closed deliberations whereupon the temporary services contract for the interim city secretary was terminated and Crystol Birdwell was reappointed to the position of City Secretary beginning August 5, 2011. Alderman Pena, retaining the floor after the vote and making additional motions as the result of the Executive Session deliberations, was then called out of order. The Mayor called for a motion to adjourn over Pena's objection and received the expected responses from Vandygriff and Turner (motion and second) and called the meeting adjourned and left the council chambers with VandyTurner in tow. However, Steele never called the question on the motion to adjourn, there was no vote, and a quorum of the City Council retained the dais and continued with the post executive session motions until they had concluded the public business, at which time the meeting was properly adjourned upon unanimous consent of the assembled quorum present.
Read more!
Friday, July 29, 2011
Mayor & Past Council Violated Open Meetings Act
Mayor Jeff Steele admitted in an interview to the Ellis County Press (Click Here to View the Article) that he and the members of the City Council intentionally deliberated in private to determine the appointment of Vicky Vandygriff to Matias Leal's vacated unexpired term on May 19, 2011, in violation of the Texas Open Meetings Act.
The Ellis County Press (May 26) described the open City Council meeting when Vandygriff was appointed:
"Vandygriff, after just resigning, was appointed by the council unanimously to fulfill the remainder of Leal’s term to the mixed crowd of booing and cheering."
The process Major Jeff Steele described to arrive at the post-election appointment of Vandygriff to another term constitutes a "Walking Quorum" or "Straw Poll" - intent to deliberate in private to avoid discussion in public in violation of the Act is specifically prohibited and criminal sanctions may apply, as well as voiding of whatever action was taken. Intentional and unintentional acts of Avoidance to the TXOMA have resulted in prosecutions and convictions in Texas.
To further quote the May 26 edition of the Ellis County Press regarding Mayor Steele's description of the process:
“There was no group discussion,” said Steele about the vote.
“I spoke to each one of them individually.”
“I assure you, everything has been done by the letter of the law to the T.”
By Mayor Steele's own admission, the Council conducted their actual deliberations, if any, in PRIVATE, CLOSED meetings in numbers less than a quorum to avoid public discussion and then "ratified" their previously decided and agreed upon course of action in the OPEN public meeting. One would be hard pressed to find a more "textbook like" Conspiracy to Violate the Open Meetings Act case given the Mayor's published admission, the audacity of the action undertaked in these closed deliberations and the public's reaction in response. The Spirit of the Law is not in evidence here and the Letter of the Law seems to have been intentionally mislaid somewhere.
To quote "The Open Meetings Act At a Glance" (2006) published by the Texas Municipal League:
"An official can be convicted for participating in an illegal closed meeting, even if unaware of the illegality of the meeting. It is an affirmative defense that the member or the official acted in reasonable reliance on a: (1) court order; (2) written opinion of a court of record; (3) written attorney general’s opinion; or (4) written opinion of the attorney for the governing body."
This is one of the reasons that all elected officials are required under GC 551.005 to attend and certify training completion for provisions of the Texas Open Meetings Act - which by the way, both Mayor Steele and Vicky Vandygriff have certificates on file (oops, there goes culpable deniability). The same training requirements are documented in GC 552.012 for the Texas Public Information Act which none of our elected officials seem to have completed in the manner proscribed by law.
The Texas Municipal League advises:
"Despite the lack of a penalty provision, officials should be cautioned that a deliberate failure to attend training may result in an increased risk of criminal conviction should they be accused of violating the Act.".
Regardless of whether the criminal charges are pursued against the Mayor, Bell, Leal, Dyess, Turner, and Vandygriff for their complicity and enabling, at least the current City Council could act on this one violation State Law and remove the Mayor from office before any more harm is done to the taxpaying citizens of this community.
And in case any of our readers were wondering: Yes, we have verified that this type of polling is considered by the current Texas Attorney General staff to be a walking quorum and subject to criminal prosecution as of the date of publication (29 July 2011).
Some of our Open Meetings Act References from the State of Texas Office of Attorney General:
"Open Meetings 2006 Handbook"
page 5 Judicial Decisions
Esperanza Peace and Justice Center v. City of San Antonio
page 5 Attorney General Opinions
"Open Meetings Handbook 2004"
page 51 Porth v. Morgan
page 53-54 Section 551.143-551.144
"Texas Open Meetings Act Made Easy (2002)
ANSWERS TO THE MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT
pages 35-38 Questions #90 through #97.
Read more!
Monday, May 23, 2011
Mayor, Vandygriff & Council "Flip the Bird" to Voters *UPDATE*
In an overwhelming display of hubris, Mayor Steele, Vicky and the City Council saluted the entire electorate with upraised middle finger Thursday night... figuratively speaking. Just look at the coverage on Channel 23 and see for yourself.
Click Here to View the Univision Channel 23 Media Coverage part 1
Click Here to View the Univision Channel 23 Media Coverage part 2
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE ELLIS COUNTY PRESS ARTICLE WITH 9 MINUTE VIDEO
Click Here to View the YouTube Video Only.
A very self-congratulatory, brazen and smug city council convened before a crowd of at least sixty to defecate on the citizenry and push forth their "final agenda". In their wisdom, they re-ordered the agenda to consider the resignations and replacements for the Leal and Vandygriff positions on the council BEFORE considering the other agenda items. The crowd responded approvingly when Vandygriff resigned. Jean Landrum was placed in Vandygriff's vacated seat and Vandygriff was placed in Leal's seat and given another year to bolster the mayor's agenda and "represent" the people expressly against their mandate from the polls and collective better judgment. And the crowd went wild vehemently denouncing the action by the City Council, the wanton disregard for the voters who wanted Vandygriff out and the insult to the entire electorate by extending Vandygriff's term. Vandygriff's swearing in was protested so loudly in the room that the Mayor threatened to arrest folks - which got a huge laugh from the citizens assembled. When he scolded the group that "this is not a joke folks" - never has such truth been told by one so ignorant of what was being said. Nevertheless, when citizens started being escorted from the Hall, many residents left en masse with the TV cameras to take their complaints and frustrations to the streets (parking lot).
When the group reconvened after the executive session where contract deals were inked between the City and their favored henchmen which ascended to positions of becoming "city officers" - with all the privileges and liabilities that distinction entails. Vicky Vandygriff joyously, maliciously and very in-your-face to the citizens assembled - took on the task of making all the motions to create four new city officers Building Official Bill Burns, Code Enforcer and Fire Chief Marcus Smith, Police Chief Victor Kemp and provide employment contracts to those three as well as City Secretary Alice Holloway.
Evidently, the city council never read those contracts because Stan Bell stated after the meeting he didn't know what the contracts said in response to a question about contract termination clauses. A citizen pointed out that - as is typical for Stan - the meeting was over and Stan still didn't know what had happened - thank you Stan for your "service" and good riddance.
The City Council NEVER DISCLOSED the amount of taxpayer funds committed with these new employment contracts or the contract term/duration when asked by the public from the floor. Evidently, Council members were under orders not to discuss those items with the public, as disclosed by councilman Bob Turner in an after meeting conversation.
Read more!
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
No End-Run Around the Voters
The Texas Certificate of Obligation Act allows the voters to petition for an election if they don't want their city to borrow money and the city doesn't want to let the voters decide in a bond election to allow the City to borrow money.
Click Here to Read the Full Story.
Certificates of Obligation are an end-run around the will of the voters so that the City can borrow money and ignore the will of the voters in a bond election.
Fortunately for the citizens of Wilmer, the City's credit rating is a disaster and no reputable banker would even consider a loan. However, it will be the responsibility of the voters to make sure the city conforms to the will of the people. Start or sign a petition to make sure you have a voice and a vote when considering the City's future obligations that will have to be paid by yourselves, your children, and your grandchildren.
Read more!
Monday, June 22, 2009
Cottonwood Creek Preserve
Check out this contributed article about last Sunday's outing in the Nature Preserve.
Bright and early Sunday (June 21), Councilwoman Marlena Dyess Planning and Zoning Board member Casey Burgess along with Mayor Steele were given an escorted tour of the Cottonwood Creek Wildlife Preserve. Escort for this tour was Mary Phinney, Administrator for Dallas County Trail and Preserve Program. “Wilmer has been blessed with this natural forest virtually untouched since the 1870’s, right in our own backyard”, said Mayor Steele, “with over 2 miles of surface trails and 220 acres of natural beauty, this is a resource that needs to be addressed."
The Preserve in its current configuration, is divided into two separate areas. The east side of the preserve remains in its natural state, home to deer, flying squirrels, raccoons, armadillos and other native species of animals.
No vehicular traffic is allowed in this area and is accessed only by the hiking trails. The west side has a play ground, picnic pavilion, grills and parking areas. This side is open to future recreational development by the City, which is presently investigating a Frisbee golf course to be located here, as well as future basketball courts, soccer and baseball fields and tennis courts.
“As Wilmer continues to grow and prosper, the recreational needs of our Citizens, becomes more and more important. We have an obligation to provide these types of facilities for our children and their families”, said Councilwoman Dyess.
In the near future, we will be looking for volunteers to help restore some of the signage that needs repainting and to clear off some of the trails to make them more accessible to everyone. If you are interested in helping with this project, please call City Hall at 972.441.6373.
(ED NOTE: ANIMALS ARE NOT TO BE RELEASED INTO THE WILDLIFE PRESERVE FOR GRAZING WITHOUT A PERMIT. PLEASE CALL CITY HALL FOR MORE INFORMATION.)
Read more!
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Tonight City Council Meeting Needs Oversight
Wilmer City Council will meet at 7:30PM tonight to consider a zoning ordinance outside the city boundaries of the 95+ acres West of the railroad on Belt Line Road following a second public hearing on the matter. Also, on the agenda are two closed executive sessions, two police officer hirings and an Oncor rate increase. Click Here to View the Agenda.
A second public hearing will be held concerning the planned annnexation and "base zoning" of Xebec Realty's 95+ acre industrial development West of the railroad tracks on Belt line Road. Readers may remember the public hearing on this same topic at the last council meeting in July was very active and "lively".
The Council will then meet in closed executive session with the City Attorney to discuss the "zoning ordinance". The published agenda references Section 551.071 of the Texas Goverment Code, which reads as follows:
Sec. 551.071. CONSULTATION WITH ATTORNEY; CLOSED MEETING.
A governmental body may not conduct a private consultation with its attorney except:
(1)when the governmental body seeks the advice of its attorney about:
(A)pending or contemplated litigation; or
(B)a settlement offer; or
(2)on a matter in which the duty of the attorney to the governmental body under the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct of the State Bar of Texas clearly conflicts with this chapter.
(ED: emphasis added above)
At the last City Council meeting, the motion to "consider the recommendation of the Planning and Zoning Commission of the application for volunteer annexation" failed for lack of a second after conferring with legal counsel. The Planning & Zoning Commission recommended against annexation when it considered the proposal last month. Several members of the P&Z Commission are alleged to have financial interests in property adjacent to the planned development.
Upon reconvening in open session, the Council will "Review and consider proposed zoning ordinance of approximately 95.7731 acres of land in the extrterritorial (sic) jurisdiction of the City of Wilmer" - apparently in defiance of Texas statutory prohibitions against such a action. Texas Local Government Code provides only for the volunteer annexation of residential property. Zoning statutes forbid a municipality from attempting to regulate zoning in its' extraterritorial jurisdiction (outside the city limits). The question of annexation is not mentioned in the published notice of the agenda.
(ED NOTE: since there is no litigation or settlement pending we must assume this is an illegal or unethical action that may expose the Council members to prosecution or litigation after resarching the State Bar's TDRPC referenced by Sec. 551.071.)
Other business includes consideration of a statement of intent for a planned rate change by Oncor Electric Delivery, followed by another executive session to consider hiring two police officers. The council will again reconvene in open session to vote on the new police hires before adjourning.
Read more!
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Local Option Liquor Election - Part 3
Secrets and Lies - Lies and Secrets Part 3
The final part of our three part investigative series outlines actions within the Dallas County Elections Department and lists a reference compendium of all our sources and research materials for this series on the May 10 local liquor option election.
The diagram below hopefully illustrates some of the relationships between parties involved in Wilmer's May 10 local option election uncovered in our first two parts of the series.
"Connections" in the Wilmer local option election for liquor sales May 10.
Dallas County Election Department performance has been disappointingly slow since we were required to file a formal public information (open records) request which must be serviced by the Dallas County District Attorney's Civil Division Office. For the most part, the Election Department's customer service by on site staff has been exemplary. In fact, our campaign finance inquiries and our voter registration inquiries (March 2008) were handled promptly in a single visit in person. The Dallas Morning News informs us that their requests are typically handled promptly by Election Department officials with little more than a phone call to the director - usually resulting in a fax on the same day. Wilmer Public Citizen is required to be much more assertive in pressing our requests for information.
Wilmer Public Citizen's Public Information Request to the Dallas County Election Department regarding the petition application to place the local alcohol sales proposition on the ballot had been referred to the District Attorney's Office for processing on April 24 - in plenty of time before the election. Tandi Smith of the Election Department says she sent our request via interoffice mail to an attorney in the DA Civil Division, but that individual no longer worked there. The request was not processed before the election, instead taking until May 20 before we were allowed access to the documents. Obviously our open records request was mishandled, but we can not determine whether it was the DA Civil Division or the Election Department responsible for the delay in processing. Open record requests with Dallas County are usually sent to the secretary of the DA Civil Division who then assigns an attorney to work the request. By statute, government entities are allowed ten business days to comply with open records requests under the Texas Public Information Act.
We were informed that ten valid signatures are required with an application to request authorization to circulate a ballot measure petition for a local option liquor election. Our research revealed no references in the election codes to substantiate this. However, we are informed that of the 29 signatures presented on the application to circulate the petition, less than ten were properly validated registered resident voters in the City of Wilmer. One source on the Wilmer City Council stated that only 8 of the required 10 verifiable signatures were properly affixed to the petition application. One confidential source indicated that City Secretary Crystol Birdwell was not permitted to disqualify the application.
Our research indicates that the actual petition for a local option election (referendum) requires 35% of the total number of voters that voted in the immediately prior governors election in order to be placed on the ballot. Dallas County Election Department informs us that 120 signatures were required for a successful petition for a local option election in Wilmer. We were also informed by Toni Pippin-Poole that the Election Department was "not obligated to certify every signature" on a petition and was permitted by statute to use random statistical sampling. The Election Department was not forthcoming with any information regarding sampling sizes or techniques, but did indicate that once the required number of signatures was achieved, no further certification processing was required. In general, random sampling is not valid for small populations of responses less than one thousand (the total population was only 120 required signatures). Further, our contact at the Election Department misinformed us about the random sampling requirements: it is permissible to use the technique under statutes ONLY if there are no written objections to the sampling method.
We have also been informed by Tandi Smith at the Dallas County Election Department that two applications were separately submitted for both Wilmer and Hutchins jurisdictions. However, we were not permitted to view the application information for Hutchins when we met with Ms. Smith to inspect the information because it was not included in our written open records request. In fact, Ms. Smith refused to provide any other information other than what was specifically detailed in our open records requests, stating she was "not permitted" to allow our access to the information.
Upon examination of copies of the documents viewed as a result of our Open Records request, there appear to be an unusually large number of signatures that are erroneous, invalid, or unverifiable on the LOE petition application, as well as on the petition itself. The number of invalid signatures on the petition application and the irregularity in handling our open records requests raises serious questions as to the validity of the certification process within the Dallas County Elections Department. We were informed that the certification process is run through the computer and the results are indisputable. We were also informed that local precinct level election officials have no input to the process of certifying petitions for local option elections. Dallas County Elections Department certified the results without consulting city or precinct election officials.
Our research uncovered that the Dallas County Election Department actually printed notice of the petition circulation the day before a campaign treasurer had been designated. While under Texas statute, there is no definitive process for creating a PAC, typically the declaration of a campaign treasurer is the first event that declares a PAC, unless registered with the Secretary of State's office. Wilmer & Hutchins Citizens for Better Business (WHCBB) has not been registered with any entity other than the Dallas County Election department at the state, federal or local level. Evidently, the Dallas County Election Department acts on petition requests with nothing more than a verbal declaration that a committee exists.
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We understand why businesses might want to expand their operations by promoting alcohol sales in Wilmer, but we fail to understand the reasoning behind their methods. Is it likely a citizens group is going to band together politically to promote alcohol sales to increase revenue for the city? Businesses lobbying to increase their markets makes perfect sense, we just don't understand the furtive manner. What's to hide: big business wants your money and so does your local political subdivision. Why create "Wilmer & Hutchins Citizens for Better Business" just to push campaign funding and expenses? Did the special purpose PAC start out as a paid focus group? Did the individuals involved in the PAC receive some remuneration as yet unreported? Is the Dallas County Election Department working for the citizens of Dallas County or the lobbyists and special interests? These questions are beyond the scope of our investigative series, but we are including our research references so that perhaps these questions can be taken up by other, more financially endowed investigators.
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UPDATES AND REFERENCES
Updates to previously published information:
* The Distilled Spirits Council contributed an additional $5,125 reported on the May 2 finance report, increasing their total contribution to $17,625, for a total pre-election campaign income of $44,000 (or about $15 for every man, woman and child in Wilmer).
* "Vote Yes for Wet" signs sent to John Eggen were paid for by a Dallas real estate broker with long standing property interests in Wilmer and surrounding areas as a private individual contribution not related to the activities of the Wilmer & Hutchins Citizens for Better Business (WHCBB) Political Action Committee.
Web Document Sources for this Series:
Please click here to view.
Please click here to view.
Please click here to view.
Please click here to view.
Political Action Committee:
Wilmer & Hutchins Citizens for Better Business
Judy Pennington, Treasurer (214) 541-8066
216 Wilmer-Heights Dr. Wilmer, TX 75172
Note: Former Treasurer Jan-March 2008
Annette Perez (469) 583-4726
212 Wilmer-Heights Dr. Wilmer, TX 75172
WEB SITE: http://www.WHWins.com
This domain was registered on April 16, 2008 and hosted by http://www.GoDaddy.com registered to Hutch White 673 Roseberry Buda, TX 78610 phone: (512) 538-4420
eMail: hwhite1@austin.rr.com
At the time the pre-election campaign advertising flyer was delivered, the website http://www.WHWins.com was not operational but was soon activated with the same graphics as seen on the "Vote for Proposition 1" signs placed by Texas Petition Strategies. Obviously the advertising flyers, campaign signs and web site have been provided by Texas Petition Strategies, Inc. (NOTE: John Hatch resides in Buda, Texas)
Lobbyists and Consultants for the local option election:
Texas Petition Strategies, Inc.
John Hatch (Austin) and Sissy Day (Arlington)
WEB SITE: http://www.texaspetitions.com
It seems that John Hatch, in addition to being listed as the owner of Texas Petition Strategies, is or was also the "Government Affairs" contact for Hard Count, Inc.
Much of the verbiage contained in the advertising flyer was also present on the http//hardcountinc.com web site at the time of our research. So it seems there is yet another professional lobbyist affiliation working with these folks.
Hard Count, Inc.
Austin, TX 78748, phone: 512-280-6423, fax: 512-280-0707
WEB SITE: http://hardcountinc.com
John Hatch "Government Affairs"
eMail:JohnHatch@hardcountinc.com
Further, these groups both are connected to another web site http;//honorourvote.com that is working against the Dallas County Commissioners' decision not to permit alcohol sales in Dallas County Precinct 3 after a local option election had allegedly been successful. The following information is copied directly from their web site:
"Copyright 2007. This website is paid for by the Dallas Area Residents for Retail Change (DARRC) which is a state required special purpose political action committee supporting the beer and wine election in Dallas County. HonorOurVote.com is controlled by DARRC and all contributions and expenditures associated with DARRC and HonorOurVote.com will be reported as required by Texas Ethics Laws. Political Contributions are not deductible for income tax purposes. Corporate and personal contributions are legal by Texas law. Dallas Area Residents for Retail Change Attn: HonorOurVote.com 203 Lake Ridge Village-- Box 221 Dallas, TX 75238"
Financial Backers of the Local Option Election:
TRI GAZ INC.
103 S. I-45 Wilmer, Texas 75172
Phone: (972) 441-3747 Fax: (972) 525-6908
President: Zouheir (aka Zack or Zachary) Kassem CELL: (214) 632 2777
Vice President Wadjen Al-Zoubi (aka Joe Zoubi) CELL: (214) 693 4759
eMail: joe@tri-gaz.com
NOTE: http://tri-gaz.com is not an active web site
Distilled Spirits Council
1250 Eye Street, NW, Suite 400
Washington, D.C. 20005
(202) 628-3544
The National Trade Association Representing Producers and Marketers of America's Favorite Brands of Distilled Spirits
Victron Energy
Ali Sharaf President / Owner
105 YMCA Dr Waxahachie, TX 75165
Phone:(469) 517-2000
901 Ferris Ave Waxahachie, TX , 75165-2555
Phone: (972) 938-3920 Fax: (972) 937-0271
Commercial Vendors:
Valentine Direct Marketing
Ed Valentine, President
5415 Maple Avenue Dallas, TX
These people supplied the postal permit for the campaign advertising mailer.
Potential Connections:
An interesting connection was discovered through web research between Victron Energy and Historymaker Homes via a commercial real estate broker Kelly Harris http://www.kharco.com/KSH1%20RESUME.pdf
Kelly S Harris
WEB SITE: http://www.kharco.com
Phone: (972) 842-3884 Fax: (972) 842-3885 eMail: kharco@aol.com
Texas Brokers License No. 0332-614
Mr. Bryan Mitchell
CEO of Historymaker Homes
6815 Manhattan Blvd., Suite 400
Ft. Worth, Texas 76120
Phone: (817) 429-8008
Read more!
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Local Option Liquor Election - Part 2
Secrets and Lies - Lies and Secrets. Part 2 of Wilmer Public Citizen's investigative report explores the companies and connections behind the proposition to approve package liquor sales in Wilmer on May 10. If you missed Part 1 of the series click here to read Secrets and Lies - Lies and Secrets Part 1. We will also update elements of our story which may have changed since Part 1 was originally published.
The great thing about a multi-part series from an editorial perspective, is that you can allow time for the story to unfold from a variety of news sources.
Click here to view the Dallas Morning News Article following up Part 1 of our series. As it turns out, there's nothing "news worthy" about business as usual for big money lobbying groups - only its' financial impact on a small target community like Wilmer.
Financial impact? Final pre-election campaign funding documents revealed one additional contribution of $5,125 from the Distilled Spirits Council was passed through the Wilmer & Hutchins Citizens for Better Business (WHCBB) political action committee to Texas Petition Strategies, Inc. (TPS), bringing the total to $44,000 in support of the ballot initiative. That investment figures roughly $15 per capita which includes every man woman and child in Wilmer) - or more than three times the per capita income (303%) in Wilmer.
Texas Petition Strategies, Inc. "Damage Control"
After Part 1 of our series was published, John Hatch of Texas Petition Strategies, Inc.(TPS) responded to our previous inquiries in an email. Mr. Hatch included updated pre-election financial disclosure statements, and provided a "press kit" for our research. After the election, Hatch granted a lengthy telephone interview to this reporter in response to our follow-up inquiry.
The TPS "press kit" included a press release, marketing presentation/bios of the company's principals, election results of their efforts, and two campaign finance reports through May 2, 2008. The Dallas Morning News article (referenced above) was based partly on this press release and interviews with TPS principal John Hatch and Campaign Treasurer Judy Pennington of "Wilmer & Hutchins Citizens for Better Business" (WHCBB).
Hatch discussed his background and initial work with the city of Buda where he lives just south of Austin. From a strategic perspective, Hatch promotes the idea of local option elections by precinct or justice-of-the-peace district as opposed to individual municipalities. Local option elections can authorize alcohol sales within a city but only as far as the boundaries existing at the time of the local option election. If a city is experiencing growth, it makes more sense to push local options in the county or precinct prior to working within an individual city. Once the county/precinct is "wet" the cities within these areas can be targeted for local option elections, and as they grow, new elections would not be required. The Wilmer scenario follows this model as local option election has already been passed in Dallas County Precinct 3, but has not been implemented by the county commissioners (more on this in Part 3).
The TPS marketing literature can be somewhat misleading if interpreted that "Client Cities" refer to the actual governing body of a political subdivision, rather than the Cities in which their clients conduct business. TPS made it clear that their services are not marketed to political subdivisions' governing bodies.
Hatch's primary concern in managing LOE campaigns is to combat the influence of extra-jurisdictional business interests to quash ballot measures, and spent a great deal of time relating how Dallas liquor retailers had financed opposition initiatives in Lancaster and Anna elections. He stated that the campaign flyer sent to Wilmer residents was designed as a "preemptive strike" against such outside opposition.
TPS has enough success with local option elections to get clients mostly by referrals. Hatch has significant experience speaking to civic and business groups promoting the ideas of local option elections and has been successful enough in getting these ititiatives passed to have earned a distinguished reputation in the area.
Mr. Hatch stated that he was approached by Zouheir Kassem of Tri-Gaz and Ali Sharaf of Victron Energy after having met them at a Fort Worth business social. As convenience store owners in the Wilmer & Hutchins areas, they were interested in increasing revenues and enlisted TPS to get the measure on the ballot. When it was apparent that all package liquor sales would be targeted, Hatch contacted the Distilled Spirits Council for additional funding.
According to Hatch, Kassem and Sharaf furnished all the information to establish the WHCBB political action committee. Campaign Treasurer Judy Pennington as well as all the referenced individuals in the advertising flyer mailed to Wilmer residents were names supplied by Kassem and Sharaf. Hatch says he worked closely with Pennington but did not have contact with the other WHCBB members. Hatch did not comment on the web site mentioned in the campaign flyer (http://www.WHWins.com), but we note that the site is registered to a "Hutch White" in the same town where Hatch resides: Buda, Texas.
We have discovered many variations and misquotes between the TPS written Press Release and the WHCBB campaign flyer. By comparison, these two documents look like amateur "cut and paste" jobs because they obviously were not "proofed or edited". According to our research, none of the folks quoted in Hutchins admit to supporting the proposition or making any statements. Comments attributed in the campaign flyer to "Tommy Nail, Hutchins" are quoted as coming from the mouth of Judy Pennington in the Press Release - except that "we have major grocery store chains in Carthage" in the Tommy Nail quote was changed to "we don't have any grocery stores in Wilmer-Hutchins" for the Pennington quote in the Press Release. Comments from "Jerry Griggs and Judy Pennington" in the campaign flyer are attributed to "Tanya Nail of Hutchins" in the Press Release. And comments from "Patricia Nail, Hutchins" in the campaign flyer are attributed to Jerry Griggs of Wilmer in the Press Release Additional Press Release quotes from Judy Pennington and Jerry Griggs were generic and not mentioned in the campaign flyer materials, but having interviewed Ms. Pennington personally, this reporter is skeptical.
When asked how the quotes in his campaign advertising flyer were attributed, Mr. Hatch acknowledged that he received a list of names from the principal contributors (Kassem and Sharaf). In our interview, Hatch was noncommittal about the differences to whom the quotes were attributed in his press release and in the marketing flyer.
Our research indicates that Tanya Nail of Hutchins had also been employed by the Sonic/Exxon at I45 & Belt Line in Wilmer. However, Ms. Nail's parents, quoted in the marketing flyer (Patricia Nail and Tommy Nail) deny that they supported the measure, stated that they voted against the measure, and gave no permission for their names to be used in campaign advertising literature. We have been unable to determine if Jerry Griggs, Miguel Briones and Natalia Briones of Wilmer had given permission for their names to be used in the advertising. Natalia Briones' signature appears on the list of petition signers, but not on the application to circulate the petition.
It is never obvious whom the intended audience for TPS' marketing materials may be - but the reader is left with the firm impression that various city governments have commissioned TPS to pass these initiatives. While their success rates are detailed in an "election results" document, one is easily misled to believe again, that cities were the customers of TPS. According to Hatch and our investigations, cities and other governing bodies are barred from participating in political activities and using public monies. It appears that TPS markets their services to "appropriate" business venues in a target jurisdiction and the WHCBB Press Release states that "The group is supported by local citizens and business owners".
But is it really? We can't verify that Ali Sharaf (Victron Energy) and Zouheir Kassem (Tri Gaz) are actually citizens. Victron Energy is based in Waxahachie. Tri Gaz has six different corporations in different locations (including one in Oklahoma), but Kassem lives in Dallas - Wadjen Al-Zoubi, vice president lives in Sunnyvale. We have a semantic problem referring to these non-Wilmer resident individuals as "local business owners". We have determined that Judy Pennington is a citizen, but not a registered voter (perhaps due to serious legal problems in her background).
Texas statutes impose no restrictions on qualifications for Campaign Treasurer, unlike petition signers and applicants for petitions. A Campaign Treasurer need not be a citizen, registered voter, legal resident (or even human for that matter) as long as the required reports are completed and filed in a timely manner with a signature. Campaign Treasurer Judy Pennington's signature does not appear on either the petition or the application, nor does her name appear on the list of registered voters for the Wilmer precinct.
Look for the wrapup in Part 3 of our series "Secrets and Lies - Lies and Secrets" coming this weekend.
Read more!
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Local Option Liquor Election - Part 1
Secrets and Lies - Lies and Secrets. That's what we've been able to find out about "Local Option Election" Proposition 1 for package liquor sales in Wilmer. Wilmer Public Citizen's special three part investigative report on the backing behind the proposition may relieve some voters' confusion about this election issue. But the entire affair raises a number of questions about secrecy in campaign finances for the May 10 elections.
The first campaign advertising signs appeared about two weeks ago, paid for
by "Texas Petition Strategies, Inc". These advertising signs read "Wilmer-Hutchins" and ask you to vote For "Local Option Election Proposition 1". Many folks thought these were for the DISD Bond proposition on the ballot, because of the reference to "Wilmer-Hutchins". However, these signs refer to the local option election for package liquor sales.
Click Here to view the sign.
Second to appear were signs that read "Vote Yes for Wet" and did not disclose who paid for them, a violation of the Texas Election Code. John Eggen says he volunteered to distribute campaign signs around town in support of the proposition, but says he had no role in producing or financing the signs. Eggen reported that fifty signs were shipped by a printing company in Tyler to "On Time Designs" in Red Oak and delivered to his home. Eggen had previously published letters in a mailing to the voters and an open letter in this publication on March 15.
Click here to view Eggen's March 15 letter.
Finally, over the past weekend a full color four page campaign flyer was widely mailed out to many Wilmer residents. The group responsible for this advertising campaign was listed as "Wilmer & Hutchins Citizens for Better Business" and named Judy Pennington, Treasurer (phone 214-541-8066).
Click Here to view a scan of this mailing.
In an interview on Saturday, Ms. Pennington told this reporter that she "couldn't say" what the name of the group was and that she "hadn't collected a penny" in contributions. Our investigation confirms that Ms. Pennington was not the campaign treasurer when the contributions were received by the previous campaign treasurer Annette Perez of 212 Wilmer-Heights (phone 469-583-4726). Ms. Perez was the campaign treasurer from January until being replaced by Ms. Pennington, according to campaign filings with the Dallas County Elections Board dated April 10, 2008. Pennington's signature was affixed to the documents filed April 10, 2008.
According to campaign finance documents, a total of $38,875 had been collected as of April 10 from three major contributors and disbursed to Texas Petition Strategies, Inc. on the following dates:
1/11/08 Victron Energy Inc. Waxahachie, TX $11,250
2/13/08 Distilled Spirits Council Washington DC $12,500
4/01/08 Tri-Gaz 103 S. I-45 Wilmer TX 75172 $15,125
Victron Energy is described as "The largest Shell distributor in the State of Texas and 2nd largest Exxon distributor in the USA."
The Distilled Spirits Council is "The National Trade Association Representing Producers and Marketers of America's Favorite Brands of Distilled Spirits" - a nationwide lobbying organization.
Tri-Gaz owns both the Exxon/Sonic Drive In and the Shell/Subway/Church's
establishment on the West side of I-45 at Belt Line. Judy Pennington is a management employee at this Sonic Drive In.
Pennington had considered running for city council until she received a handwritten letter that threatened to expose that Ms. Pennington's children attend school in the Ferris ISD instead of Dallas ISD, implying that the children could be ejected from the Ferris ISD schools if Ms. Pennington ran for office. An independent source confirmed the contents of the letter in an anonymous tip phoned to this reporter in early March. A third source, stated that Ms. Pennington's children planned to attend Hockaday and Jesuit Prep School in Dallas next year, but has not been confirmed by Pennington.
It's interesting to note that the mailer in question states "When you get a call, see an ad in the paper or get a letter in your mailbox from some group asking you to vote 'NO' - ask this question - who's really paying for this? Someone opposed to alcohol or someone who doesn't want the competition?"
This brings up some interesting questions: Who is behind the group paying Texas Petition Strategies to manage the campaign? Why don't these people want to be identified? Why all the secrecy?
PART 2 of this Investigative Report Explores the Business Relationships to Provide Some Answers.
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Friday, April 18, 2008
April 17 City Council "Entertainment"
Wilmer City Council meeting of April 17 began with much fanfare and went out with barely a whisper. Representatives from the Allen Group were unexpectedly present to hear the council presentation on the status of directly connecting Wilmer to the Dallas Water Utilities.
Click here to view the complete agenda.
Prior to the formal agenda items, Police Chief Robert Wells presented Officer Moore with a plaque for saving a child who had fallen in a well on February 28. Officer Moore received a standing ovation from meeting attendees for his job "well done".
First order of business was the Open Invoice Report. Tiny Lange moved to "pay the bills" with the exception of nearly $600 in undocumented Office Depot charges, but the motion died without a second. Billy Wickliffe's motion to pay all the bills was seconded and approved with over Lange's solitary nay vote.
Councilman Wickliffe was up next to present his findings on negotiations with the Allen group for connecting Wilmer to Dallas Water. Wickliffe's involvement in the negotiations had been ongoing since November 2007. Readers may remember that Wilmer Public Citizen reported on a meeting on November 17. Click here to read the first article. While Wickliffe down played his role in the negotiations, claiming ill health, he apparently had forgotten his prior campaign claim to have already brought Dallas Water to Wilmer. Billy's display of verbal tap dancing and soft shoe without ever leaving his seat was largely unremarkable.
Leslie Jutzi of the Allen Group presented the almost three year timeline spent in negotiation with the City of Wilmer since 2005 that had yet to result in a "pre-annexation agreement" including water, sewer and road improvements. Click here to view the Allen Group handout (Large file). When asked directly, Jutzi declined to place blame for the delays in getting an agreement in place, but indicated that during the same period Dallas, Lancaster, and Hutchins had all completed infrastructure agreements with the Allen Group. Councilman Wickliffe at one point seemed somewhat defensive about the negotiations, implying that Allen Group had changed the terms of the agreement over time. Ms. Jutzi indicated that the current (February 2008) agreement was the result of "robust negotiations" by all parties, and outlined an aggressive eight to ten month time line for completing the project once an agreement was finalized.
Tiny Lange handed out a comparison of commercial and residential water and sewer rates, as well as wholesale supply rates. Click here to review the Water Rate Comparison. It was revealed that Wilmer's current cost for water service ($3.10/1000 gallons) exceeds the billing rate charged to customers ($3.00/1000), resulting in the budgeted losses in the water department. Wilmer pays over 128% more for water supply than wholesale rates charged to Lancaster and Hutchins from Dallas Water Utilities. Wilmer charges residential customers about 20% less than Dallas or Hutchins, and about 70% more than Lancaster for water. Wilmer also makes no distinction between water and waste water (sewer) rates, while Dallas and Lancaster charge significantly more for waste water and Hutchins charges slightly less. Wilmer and Hutchins' commercial rates are "upside down" compared to Dallas and Lancaster in that they do not reflect volume discounts for industrial usage.
(ED NOTE: By comparison, Wilmer Water is a money losing proposition all around.
Mayor Hudson proposed a five member panel of three citizens and two council members to finalize the "pre-annexation" agreement with the Allen Group and move forward to the next council meeting with an approval item on the agenda. Allen Group representatives stated a concern that the current terms and conditions reflected market conditions in late 2007 and may require additional negotiations to move forward. Hudson committed to discuss the matter with Allen Group CEO Richard Allen directly on Friday, April 18.
The final item on the agenda, an annexation proposal of 95+ acres at the owner's request, was unanimously approved without further discussion and the meeting was adjourned.
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Sunday, March 30, 2008
City Notary Records Sought (UPDATE)
According to Texas Statutes 406.014 all notarized documents are required to be recorded in log books and are deemed public information available for inspection by any member of the general public. We'd like to see the notary logs for the recent election documents, someime before the election.
To date, we have been unable to contact Ms. Linda McCrory due to sick leave. Ms. McCrory is the Librarian for the City of Wilmer and notarizes most city documents, including most of the recent filings for elective office. According to library staff, Ms. McCrory is not expected to return to work until after the May 10 elections. We are informed that the notary record book is in her personal possession and unavailable for inspection at the present time. Requests through the City Administration offices for Ms. McCrory's contact information have not been answered.
Inconsistencies in mayoral candidate Teresa Bain's application for a place on the ballot prompted our investigation into the notary records.
*UPDATE*
Ms. McCrory telephoned Wilmer Public Citizen April 15 and indicated she would be returning to work prior to the election. City Secretary Crystol Birdwell confimed this as well. We will keep you up-to-date on our investigation.
Read more!
Friday, March 28, 2008
Candidate Brian Sliter Issues Statement
Brian Sliter's candidacy for mayor of Wilmer has created quite a sensation in the international media. Late last night, Sliter issued the following statement:
"I've been convinced by the probation department to drop out of the race for mayor in the best interests of all concerned. My biggest concern is that my motivation for running and putting myself through this ordeal will go unnoticed. At this point, I feel I've done all I can for the community in focusing international attention on the problems in Wilmer."
"One of my goals was to raise the level of awareness within and beyond the community to recognize the scandalous behavior and corruption in the city government. I am concerned that I may have failed the community because no Federal, State or local agencies have responded to our plea for investigations. Whether it is the Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Rangers, FBI or the County authorities - repeated attempts to engage them have fallen on deaf ears."
In a brief letter to City Secretary Crystol Birdwell, Mr. Sliter withdrew from the mayoral race and asked that his name be removed from the ballot by the Dallas County Elections board .
Read more!
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Mayoral Candidate Application in Error
A public information request by Wilmer Public Citizen reveals that mayoral candidate Teresa Bain submitted erroneous documents and could be disqualified, leaving only incumbent Don Hudson and "media sensation" Brian Sliter to run for Mayor of Wilmer in the May 10 election.
Readers will note that the section of the application containing notarized signature and sworn statement lists "Council Member" as the position sought by candidate Teresa Bain. Click here to view the full size document. Readers may also note certain handwriting inconsistencies in this section as compared to the top and signature sections of the document.
Sources familiar with City Administrator Thom Lauer's handwriting said the erroneous information appeared to be in his hand. Readers may recall that Mr. Lauer is the son-in-law of former council member Teresa Bain whose appointment as city administrator was the subject of a recent grand jury investigation.
Dallas County elections department stated the mistaken information wouldn't automatically eliminate Ms. Bain as a candidate. A court action may be necessary to remove Ms. Bain from the May 10 ballot. However, the issue of inconsistent handwriting and the sworn statement contents was not addressed by sources at the election department. Election officials were not advised at the time of the inquiry that the document was made available for publication.
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Saturday, March 22, 2008
Wilmer Receives International Media Attention
The sensational headlines read "Sex Offender runs for Mayor" - but the real story - the story other media has yet to break is WHY. Why would James Brian Sliter call attention to himself and his past to run for mayor of our community?
Once the Associated Press picked up the story from local news stations, coverage quickly appeared in major newspapers across the country and as far away as UK, Thailand and Korea. A huge number of Texas TV stations as ell as the Houston Chronicle and Fort Worth Star-Telegram picked up the wire story - but the story by Jason Trahan in today's Dallas Morning News Metro Section (Click here to view the story)looked beyond the headlines. (ED: Click here to read the online story - different from what was printed)
The real story is WHY Brian Sliter has chosen to undergo the intense media scrutiny involved in public political life. According to Mr. Sliter, it's because he was asked to run for mayor by a number of local citizens who have witnessed the continual scandalous behavior and violation of the public trust by the City of Wilmer's elected officials and appointed and paid staffers. Wilmer Public Citizen was initiated much for these same reasons - and to bring some much needed sunshine to the dark, secretive practices of Wilmer city government. Much of what Mr. Sliter's campaign statement (click here to read the full text) states as behavior by our city council has been observed first hand by this reporter and reported in the posts throughout Wilmer Public Citizen since mid-2007. Our attempts to seek public information through Open Records requests have been ignored by the city administration. Unfortunately, most of what is known to happen in our community isn't attributable or sufficiently verified to be reported as news. But our confidential sources have reported drug trafficking, abusive behavior, racketeering and institutionalized collusion throughout the city government.
Wilmer Public Citizen is pleased to announce our content syndication partnership with Pegasus News (http://www.pegasusnews.com) as a result of our coverage of this story. Whether our readers support Mr. Sliter's bid for the mayoral post or not, we acknowledge that his motives are in the best interests of the community. As most long time residents understand, this is a completely different political approach for the City of Wilmer. Hopefully, Brian Sliter's sacrifice of his personal privacy and public ridicule by sensationalist media will bring the attention needed to return the rule of law to our city and eliminate the small time crime family corruption we have endured for so long.
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Saturday, September 1, 2007
Unilever Invests $30M in Wilmer Distribution Facility
Unilever's Manager of Corporate Real Estate for North America Vincent Santella confirmed today the investment of $30 million to construct a new 800,000 square distribution facility in Wilmer, Texas. The major distribution facility is part of Unilever's "One Unilever" vertical consolidation initiative for foods and home personal care products.
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