A community divided

Opposition to Proposition 1 voiced

Alton approves TIRZ

Firefighters, citizens group spending reported

City council candidates spend big for campaigns

MCISD works with museum to archive a century of education

A Community Divided

Fire fighters union clashes with citizens group over collective bargaining agreement

By Jim Brunson

Dozens of people wearing yellow shirts in support of Proposition 1 took their seats in the Norberto Salinas Conference Center at the Mission Chamber of Commerce – all on one side of the aisle. On the other side of the aisle was an equally large number of people who appeared to oppose the proposition.

In his opening remarks at the community forum on Proposition 1, held Tuesday evening, former Mission Mayor Richard Perez looked at the audience and could see the division as if someone had drawn a line in the sand. While observing this, he said it was a division he did not like seeing.

“I would hope that we would all be mixed [together] because when the election is over, we will all be one city, and we need to be a joint community.”

Nearly 300 people filled the conference room to hear Fire Fighters Union President Mike Silva and former mayor Perez present arguments for and against Proposition 1, which if adopted would establish collective bargaining for Mission fire fighters.

The measure will appear on the May 8 city election ballot. Early voting begins April 26.

Forum moderator Fred Kurth set the tone at the outset, saying, “I’m gonna be tough on everybody here.”

Silva was first to present his case as each spokesman was given ten minutes for an opening statement.

Silva told the audience, “You will hear from the opposition talk about taxes, fringe benefits and outside parties. You will also hear from the opposition about how we are misleading the public. But what you won’t hear from the opposition is the true facts about Proposition 1.”

He said Proposition 1 will give Mission fire fighters a voice and a seat at the table to discuss the health and safety needs of the fire fighters. This point Silva stressed repeatedly throughout the meeting.

Later during the forum one speaker said the Mission City Council recently approved a “meet and confer” provision of the Civil Service Code for the Mission Police Department, which will allow the Mission Police Association to sit down and talk with city officials to discuss the needs of the police department. Some in the audience were not aware of this recent action.

Mission City Manager Julio Cerda explained after the meeting that Mayor Norberto Salinas has said on many occasions he has an open door policy. Fire fighters and union representatives are welcome at any time to meet with him and discuss any concerns they have. Meet and confer takes this practice of an open door policy and makes it a right for the employees affected, so they can discuss health and safety issues, wages and benefits, and other needs of the department with city officials.

Silva also stated, “The act does not allow fire fighters the right to strike, or participate in work stoppages or work slowdowns. The act specifically makes these acts illegal.”

“The adoption of Proposition 1 will not bring a tax increase to the City of Mission. Not one city has ever, in the State of Texas history, had to increase taxes in their city because of collective bargaining,” he added.

Silva accused the Citizens Against Collective Bargaining of lying about the facts concerning collective bargaining.

He said, our opposition also says the adoption of Proposition 1 will allow outsiders and outside arbitrators the ability to raise taxes in the City of Mission. That is false. Those who espouse those lies are simply not telling the truth, he added.

“The act does not require the city or the fire fighters to make an agreement.... The act will require both parties to negotiate in good faith for a period of 60 days,” the union leader said. “The adoption of Proposition 1 will also allow the fire fighters to make an agreement with their employer – The City of Mission. It will allow fire fighters a voice in matters that are very important to us: issues like staffing, providing an adequate number of fire fighters in our community to respond to emergencies, fire safety equipment, and, of course, safe and efficient fire trucks, and physical fitness standards and programs.”

When Richard Perez presented his opening remarks, he stated that many know him as a former mayor. As such he worked with the city budget for many years.

“Many of you don’t know I worked for many years with unions as well. I started out after college working with Cesar Chavez and the farm workers unionization,” Perez said.

“I’ve worked on issues of farm workers and unionization for many, many years”, he continued. “But I feel very strongly, being a former mayor… that this proposition really works against the … City of Mission.”

“The effect of the law, if it takes place… in my humble opinion and in the opinion of the Citizens Against Collective Bargaining, is that it will have a detrimental effect on the fiscal status of the City of Mission, which in the end will mean we will have to raise taxes to take care of collective bargaining process.”

He later added, “I know the statute is silent about taxes, but the end result is that taxes go up because you have to negotiate and you have to give in.”

“And though Mr. Silva points out that he is merely concerned about the safety and equipment issues of the department, I have negotiated collective bargaining agreements for 32 years. I’ve been mediator over arbitration hearings. I’ve been trained by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, and the predominant...one sole issue of the CB agreement is all about wages and fringe benefits. That’s the main issue, wages and fringe benefits.”

Perez explained that Mission fire fighters are among the highest paid in the Valley. Only McAllen and Brownsville, which are substantially larger cities than Mission, pay more than Mission.

“We have very good wages. We take care of our fire fighters,” he said. We support our fire fighters. We do not support collective bargaining.”

Turning his attention to the issue of arbitration, Perez said, “Mr. Silva mentioned, ‘You only have to sit down at the table for 60 days. That doesn’t mean that you have to agree.’ But I think what’s being failed to be mentioned is that at the end of 60 days you have what’s called an “impasse.” Once you reach an impasse, that means that either side, the union or the city, can call in and have an arbitrator. And that’s…when we lose control. When the mayor and city council can no longer manage this issue, that’s when we lose control.”

“The union is under no incentive to reach an agreement within 60 days,” the ex-mayor stated. “It’s better for them to wait out the 60 days, then call for arbitration. Then an arbitrator, or an arbitrator panel will come in. They’re not local. They won’t know anything about Mission, and they will make decisions for us as a city council, a mayor and us as citizens,” Perez added. “There is nothing untruthful about that statement.

“Collective bargaining is controlled by outsiders. They get the professionals to come in and deal against the City of Mission, against our local city managers and our city fathers. So, let’s not let Mission get more outsiders who really don’t care about Mission. All they want is to collect those union dues and they want to represent union members only, period,” Perez said.

Later in the meeting, on this topic Perez said, “Collective bargaining brings in outsiders. Outsiders control the…process. It’s not the local fire fighters that sit down and negotiate a contract. They’re there but they are represented by people in Austin or somewhere else by an association, professionals, lawyers and people who do this for a living. They have no interest in what happens to the City of Mission Their sole purpose is to represent the best interest of the fire fighters. And the sole purpose of the fire fighters predominantly centers around wages and fringe benefits. Safety and equipment issues are not the main concern of the union.”

To underscore his point concerning union outsiders, Perez noted the presence in the audience a union attorney from El Paso and a union leader from Oklahoma.

Following the opening remarks, a series of questions submitted on cards by the audience were posed to the two spokesmen. During the ensuing discussion, many of the same points were reiterated. However, Silva did list some items that he felt the fire department was lacking. These items include a GPS system for the fire trucks, a GIS system and a weather station. He also said the department has a $650,000 ladder truck with no full time staffing and the central fire station has no 911 ambulance system.

Perez responded that in “union speak” what Silva was saying is that when the city acquires a ladder truck, the union is going to demand staffing for that truck, and that they be trained and certified – all at city expense. Then the union would say those newly-trained fire fighters are now certified in a new skill and must be paid higher wages.

In his response to a question from the audience as to how the taxpayer in Mission would benefit from a collective bargaining agreement, Silva said fire fighters would be able to have the right equipment to do the job.

“If we have the right equipment, the right training and the right staff, then we...can make sure the citizens are safe,” the union spokesman said. “We’ve had complaints after complaints after complaints about our equipment issues…. You guys need to understand that the fire fighters are not…safe at the fire department. They’re not.”

To this the city spokesman replied, “When I was mayor…you had to meet state standards, state codes, state certification standards. You have to meet those. If you don’t you get written up…. If we were out of compliance in any of these safety issues that Mike makes reference to we would have been cited or we would have been forced by some court order long ago to act and correct it.”

Opposition to Proposition 1 voiced

By Kathy Olivarez

During citizens’ participation at the Monday, April 12, Mission City Council meeting, Pat Townsend Jr., speaking as a private citizen, said he was opposed to the proposition that one branch of the city should be treated differently by having more power than any other branch. He objected to an advertisement in the Progress Times that stated the council was making decisions “behind closed doors” and told the council they needed to combat those rumors.

He also objected to a letter to the editor that said those who feared unions were ”fear mongers.” Townsend said the council needed to call attention to the fact that people being paid by the city were “calling the council out.”

The starting salary for beginning firefighters in Mission is $37,000 a year, whereas councilmen receive $25 a month and the mayor receives $96 a month to make major decisions for the city.

Mayor Beto Salinas said he does not support collective bargaining. The city has been reducing taxes for the last 10 years. Giving collective bargaining to firefighters would allow them to demand higher salaries and possibly cause a tax increase or a reduction in other city services.

“I have an open door policy at city hall, in my office and in my truck,” said the mayor. I am willing to listen to what everyone has to say. We don’t need collective bargaining.”

Sewer Plant Expansion

In other business, the council approved a contract with Melden & Hunt for the sewer plant expansion project, which will increase the city’s capacity to 13.5 MGD (million gallons daily). That amount is projected to cover the city’s needs through 2034. The projected cost is $9.5 million. Melden & Hunt would receive a fee of $1,069,750 for design responsibilities and project management.

It was mentioned that the City of Palmview might elect to join Mission’s wastewater system. Palmview has a need of three MGD. If Palmview does join Mission’s system, it will have to pay for the capacity it receives.

Annexation Public Hearing

A public hearing was held for the proposed annexation of 459.11 acres, including the eastern 300 feet of lots one, two, three and four and the east 300 feet of the south 655 feet of lot five, Crane Subdivision, lots seven through 10, Mission Farm Estates. It includes 246.81 acres of U.S. Fish and Wildlife property being immediately south of lots nine and 10 Mission Farm Estates all the way south to the Rio Grande.

Joe Date, who owns lots one and two of Crane Subdivision, raised objections saying his property had always been a part of the Abram community and he did not want it in Mission unless the rest of Abram was annexed too. His brothers also objected to the annexation. The next annexation hearing will be held April 26.

Zoning Ordinance #1128 was amended to delete stored recreational vehicles from meeting building setbacks. Currently, the ordinance forbids parking or storing recreational vehicles on R-4 lots without meeting setbacks. This was not a requirement in R-1 of R-1A lots so it was dropped from R-4 lots as well.

The city approved a request by Hunt Valley Development to accept Los Nogales Park and El Sendero Park as public city parks. Los Nogales Park is a 2.1-acre park located near the intersection of Santa Fe and San Roman. It has two primary gathering areas and a soccer field. El Sendero Park is a 1.7-acre park located near the intersection of Santa Fe and Santa Rocio. This park has three primary gathering areas with playground equipment.

In other action, the council approved Ordinance No. 3555 granting Sharyland Utilities L.P., a limited partnership under the laws of the State of Texas for electric power delivery franchises.

The monthly tax collection report showed that the adjusted tax levy was $17,423,873.55 and the amount of the collections as of Feb. 28 was $14,943,557.78 or 85.76 percent of the total tax levy.

Hidalgo County has raised the fee for tax collections by $3,308 for a total charge of $69,458.

City Manager Julio Cerda was authorized to redeem the 2006A Revenue Bond (Governor’s Loan in the amount of $8,765,000) to help pay for construction of improvements to the water/sewer system. This will save the city $1.8 million in interest and fees.

Approximately $1.5 million have been spent on water lines, issuance costs, equipment and engineering fees for the expansion of the water plant. The bonds have an outstanding principal balance of $7,227,280. The city has received a zero interest loan from the Texas Water Development Board for the expansion of the water plant. The Lien Revenue Bond was closed on Dec. 3, 2009 for $8,285,000.

The council accepted the Shary Golf Course Irrigation Project reconciliation, which showed an increase of $240,489.80 increasing the total cost of the project from $1,329,000 to $1,350.389.80.

The council approved an Identity Theft Prevention Program policy as required by the Federal Trade Commission, which requires the city to set up and implement policies including safeguards for sensitive information.

Mission Police Department was granted permission to solicit bids for furniture, telephone system and security system for the new police/fire substation located on Military Highway and Glasscock Road.

Authorization to accept a Border Initiative Grant from the Office of the Governor’s Criminal Justice Division in the amount of $250,000 was approved. Of that amount, $205,000 will be for purchase of patrol units and camera equipment and $45,000 will fund a Criminal Analyst.

The Housing Assistance Program was given approval for the rehabilitation of three homes subject to environmental clearance.

Staff was given permission to solicit bids for property described as the west 50 feet of lot 57, block one of the Mission Acres Subdivision. The site is located on the southeast corner of Barnes and Adams Streets.

The council approved a petition by the Mission Police Association to be recognized as a bargaining agent for all Mission police officers.

A change order for the 2010 Street Overlay Project for the addition of Meadow Way from Lake View to River Bend Drive will increase the project by $38,000, bringing the total to $825,126.74.

A request by ARCADIS Geraghty and Miller to install a groundwater monitoring well in public right-of-way located north of lot 12, Shary Meadows Subdivision was approved.

The April 26 city council meeting will be held at the Mission Chamber of Commerce, 202 W. Tom Landry due to early voting in council chambers.