Maverick County Commissioners Court turn up the heat on feud with County Auditor

By: Jose G. Landa, Copyright 2015, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc.

Maverick County Commissioners Court is turning up the heat on their feud with Maverick County Auditor Fidencio Ortiz at the Monday, January 12, 2015, Commissioners Court regular meeting at 5 P.M. at the Commissioners Courtroom in Eagle Pass, Texas with at least four agenda items discussing and possible action concerning County Auditor Ortiz.

Maverick County Commissioners Court since May 5, 2014, when they approved a resolution of no confidence against County Auditor Ortiz, have expressed their displeasure of County Auditor Ortiz’s performance and desire to have him removed.

However, Maverick County Commissioners Court ran into a brick wall with Texas law vesting the powers of appointing, paying, and removal or termination of County Auditors with the state District Judge(s) of the County, not Commissioners Court. In this case, District Judges Amado J. Abascal, III, and Cynthia Muniz appointed Ortiz as County Auditor on September 24, 2012 for a two year term until September 24, 2014, but failed to agree on re-appointing him to another two year term on October 10, 2014. Ortiz remains Maverick County Auditor until either he or someone else is re-appointed or appointed to a two year term. State law requires that the Texas Governor appoint a third District Judge to meet with Judges Abascal and Muniz to determine who should be appointed County Auditor. Maverick County is awaiting the appointment of the the third District Judge from Governor Greg Abbott’s Office.

On November 17, 2014, Maverick County Commissioners Court unanimously approved a resolution suspending or abating County Auditor Ortiz’s salary payment after his September 24, 2014 two year term expired, but 365th Judicial District Judge Abascal issued an Order to Maverick County Commissioners Court on November 21, 2014, vacating their salary suspension of County Auditor Ortiz. On December 1, 2014, Commissioners Court rescinded their November 17, 2014 resolution suspending the salary payment of County Auditor Ortiz in order to comply with Judge Abascal’s order.

Maverick County Commissioners Court approved to hire the legal services of San Antonio, Texas attorney, Luis R. Vera, Jr., to advise and represent Commissioners Court regarding their differences with County Auditor Ortiz and state law concerning County Auditors on December 8, 2014.

At a December 29, 2014, Maverick County Commissioners Court heard several agenda items concerning the County Auditor pursuant to special Legal Counsel Luis R. Vera, Jr.’s advice, leading to the four agenda items scheduled for the Monday, January 12, 2014 meeting.

Agenda Item No. 24 of the January 12th meeting calls for the “discussion and possible action on Deobligation of funding from the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) contract #711003 in the amount of $893,047.04 due to lack of County audit reports turned in on time and lack of corrective actions from the Maverick County Auditor’s office.” This agenda item is stating that Maverick County Commissioners Court is going to have to return or deobligate a previously awarded TDA Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) for the sum of $893,047.04 to Maverick County for certain community development or infrastructure projects. Commissioners Court are blaming County Auditor Ortiz for Maverick County’s inability to meet the CDBG requirements and loss of the $893,047.04 funds for Maverick County projects. County Auditor Ortiz denies that the County Auditor’s Office is responsible for the loss of these TDA CDBG funds. TDA CDBG funds come from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to help low and moderate income persons and communities with their infrastructure and development needs.

Interestingly, Maverick County Commissioners Court lost another TDA CDBG grant for $580,000 to develop and construct a stormwater drainage project for Las Quintas Subdivision and parts of El Indio Highway on August 19, 2013 because Maverick County did not meet the requirements of the grant on time. Combined these two TDA CDBG grants total approximately $1,473,047.04 of state and federal funds that Maverick County taxpayers will have lost and had to return to TDA so that it can award these funds to other communities. This means that important Maverick County development and infrastructure projects will not get done unless Maverick County taxpayers now pay for them.

Agenda Item No. 25 calls for “discussion and possible action approving and adopting a Resolution of Maverick County Commissioners’ Court pursuant to Section 115.031 of the Texas Local Government Code to authorize and employ an expert public accountant or auditor to audit all books, records or accounts of the County Auditor.” Maverick County Commissioners Court need to approve this resolution in order to proceed with the next Agenda Item No. 26 calling for “discussion and possible action for the employment of a disinterested, competent, and expert public accountant or firm to audit all books, records or accounts of the County Auditor pursuant to the Resolution approved and adopted by Maverick County Commissioners Court and as per Section 115.031 of the Texas Local Government Code.” Maverick County Commissioners Court will hire an independent public accountant or auditor to audit only the County Auditor’s books, records, and accounts.

The final and fourth agenda item concerning the County Auditor is in Executive Session No. 30(3) calling for “Executive Session on matters pursuant to Chapters 551.071, 551.072 and 551.074 of the Texas Government Code, as it pertains to legal matters, personal issues, and real eastate: 551.071, Consultation with Attorney regarding the authority of District Judges and County Commissioners in regards to County Auditor.” Maverick County Commissioners Court may take action in Open Session.

As these four agenda items demonstrate, Maverick County Commissioners Court is turning up the heat on their feud with County Auditor Ortiz.

The role of a County Auditor under Texas law is critical as it has to maintain the integrity of financial administration of a County government. The County Auditor primary responsibility is to oversee the financial record keeping of a County government and to assure that all expenditures comply with the County budget. The County Auditor is not appointed by nor under the control of Commissioners Court. While Commissioners Court is the budgeting body of a County government, both the County Auditor and Commissioners Court are authorized to approve the disbursement of County funds. The integrity of financial administration of a County government is entrusted to a dual control system of “checks and balances” by the County Auditor and Commissioners Court. The County Auditor is responsible for oversight of all County books and records of all County Officials and is charged with strictly enforcing County finances.

Compounding the relationship between Maverick County Commissioners Court and County Auditor Ortiz is the joint investigation of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Texas Department of Public Safety Rangers regarding bribery, kickback scheme, and corruption in the awarding of public construction contracts in Maverick County during 2009-2012, which resulted in the indictment of over 30 individuals and subsequent guilty pleas of most defendants including three Maverick County Commissioners. County Auditor Ortiz noted at a press conference on December 19, 2014, that he was not County Auditor during this period as he was appointed until September 24, 2012 and his office has cooperated with the investigation.

The Maverick County Commissioners Court meeting on Monday, January 12, 2015, at 5 P.M. at the Commissioners Courtroom is open to the public.