Charter Election Good for the City
By: Mayor Eddie Treviño

There will be a Special City Charter election on September 11, 2004. This is a very important election that will affect all of us and I encourage each of you to go to the polls and vote.

Some of you may be wondering what this is all about. The primary reason for the election is to change certain portions of the City Charter that deal with the way the Brownsville Public Utilities Board currently finances projects and flows funds to the City of Brownsville.

This election is all about finding solutions to pay back existing debt and finding solutions to meet the ever growing needs of this city. This election is not about trying to get more money from citizens..

The Brownsville Public Utilities Board is the municipal owned utility service for the City of Brownsville. Its operations are governed by a City Charter that was created in 1960 when the Brownsville PUB was formed. The charter dictates how the Brownsville PUB can conduct business and it also dictates how funds from the Brownsville PUB flow into the City’s General Fund. Portions of the existing charter are outdated and conflict with state law. The purpose of this election is simply to have those portions amended and to modernize the City Charter.

As Mayor of our city, I believe it is my responsibility to ensure that our community and citizens are thriving. I strongly believe that Brownsville needs this election to pass, if we as a city and as a community are to continue growing.

The proposed changes to the charter will benefit the City and Brownsville PUB by updating certain restrictions within the existing City Charter which will allow for financial flexibility for the Brownsville PUB. This flexibility will allow for a broader use of existing reserve monies that are currently restricted and allow for the Brownsville PUB to take advantage of financial opportunities when financing new projects. Additionally, it simplifies the existing process used to transfer money to the city.

You as a citizen may be wondering, “What does all this have to do with me?” It affects you because in a nutshell, the better off, financially speaking, that the Brownsville PUB and the City are in, the less of a dependence on you to generate additional revenue in the form of city taxes.

Once the Charter is amended, the City and the Brownsville PUB can implement a Memorandum of Understanding that increases the amount of money transferred to the City and the frequency of those transfers. The City uses this money to run its operations including increasing services such as EMS or parks for citizens and the money pays city employees.

For all of this to happen, we need you to vote in the upcoming Special City Charter Election. Early voting begins this Wednesday, August 25th and continues through September 7th. Election Day is Saturday, September 11th.

There are four propositions on the ballot. Three of them repeal outdated portions of the existing charter and one amends it. I have been involved in this since the very beginning and I, along with the majority of the City Commission and the Brownsville PUB Board, support the upcoming election and all four proposition changes. I ask that you also support all four propositions.

To find out more, please feel free to contact City Hall and/or the Brownsville Public Utilities Board.

I hope to see each of you at the polls.