Maverick County Solid Waste Authority Discusses Annual Budget in Closed Session

By: Jose G. Landa, Copyright 2014, Eagle Pass Business Journal

The Maverick County Solid Waste Authority (MCSWA) Board of Directors may have violated the Texas Open Meetings Act at their Tuesday, August 19, 2014 Board meeting when it discussed its 2014-2015 fiscal year budget in Executive Session instead of in Open Session for the public to hear and learn about.

The Eagle Pass Business Journal has noticed the MCSWA Board of Directors has been discussing non-Executive Session agenda items during their Executive Sessions instead of in Open Session during the past year. The purpose of the Texas Open Meetings Act is to require public governmental entities and organizations such as the MCSWA to conduct their business in open and transparent fashion to allow citizens and taxpayers notice of the public business being transacted.

The MCSWA Board is the only public governmental entity in Maverick County which discusses its fiscal year budget in private and secretly behind the cloak of the Executive Session provision of the Texas Open Meetings Act. Generally, public governmental entities discuss their annual fiscal year budgets in open and transparent budget workshops and public hearings and meetings to provide notice to taxpayers.

The potential violation of the Texas Open Meetings Act stems from the MCSWA Board’s discussion of the Fiscal Year 2014-2015 Budget Items during Executive Session instead of Open Session at their August 19th Board meeting.

During the meeting, MCSWA Board Chairman Rolando Jasso called for going into Executive Session to discuss three agenda items pursuant to the Texas Government Code Section 551.071 including the 2014-2015 Budget Items.

Discussion of the MCSWA Fiscal Year 2014-2015 Budget does not appear to qualify under the the statutory exemptions allowed under Section 551.071 of the Texas Government Code/Texas Open Meetings Act to be discussed in Executive Session.

Under the Texas Open Meetings Act, a governing body may generally hold a closed meeting for one or more of the following nine reasons: consideration of specific personnel matters; certain consultations with its attorney; discussions about the value or transfer of real property; discussions about security personnel, security devices, or a security audit; discussions about a prospective gift or donation to a governmental body; discussions by a governing body of potential items on tests that the governing body conducts for purposes of licensing individuals to engage in an activity; discussions of certain economic development matters; discussions of certain competitive matters relating to a city-owned electric or gas utility for which the city council is the governing body; and certain information relating to the subject of emergencies and disasters.

Upon returning from Executive Session into Open Session, MCSWA Board Chairman Rolando Jasso called Agenda Item No. VI including the possible approval of the MCSWA Fiscal Year 2014-2015 Budget.

Board member Benny Rodriguez motioned to approve the MCSWA 2014-2015 Fiscal Year Budget and the motion was seconded by Board member Enrique Montalvo. Chairman Jasso then called the item for a vote and it was approved unanimously by the MCSWA Board.

Interestingly, the exact total amount of the MCSWA 2014-2015 Fiscal Year Budget was not discussed nor mentioned in Open Session by any Board member, leaving the public and taxpayers totally clueless as to what is the Maverick County Landfill’s governing authority budget. Maverick County citizens and taxpayers deserve better than the secrecy being conducted in Executive Session at the MCSWA. This is important to Maverick County taxpayers because all public governmental entities must conduct their business and affairs in an open and transparent manner as required in the Texas Open Meetings Act, and the Maverick County Landfill is or was under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) for corruption resulting in its former General Manager Hector Daniel Chavez, Jr. pleading guilty in federal court to theft of public funds.

The MCSWA Board of Directors include Chairman Rolando Jasso, Benny Rodriguez, Enrique Montalvo, Roberto Mireles, and Michael Luna. General Counsel is Earl Herring.