Maverick County Solid Waste Authority Approves 2012 & 2013 Audits, Alleviates Surety Concerns

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

The Maverick County Solid Waste Authority (MCSWA) Board of Directors held a special meeting on Monday, March 2, 2015, at Commissioners Courtroom in the Maverick County Courthouse in Eagle Pass, Texas, addressing the review and acceptance of their MCSWA 2012 and 2013 audits presented by their private auditor, Martinez Rosario & Company, LLP of San Antonio, Texas.

At an earlier MCSWA Board of Directors meeting held on February 26, 2015, Board President Rolando Jasso raised the issue that due to the lack of of its 2012 and 2013 Audits not being approved yet, the Surety Bond Company had questioned the MCSWA’s compliance with its $4 Million Bond requirements of the Maverick County Landfill. Board President Jasso advised Auditor Milo Martinez of Martinez Rosario & Company the urgency to complete and present for final approval its 2012 and 2013 Audits in order to not run afoul of its $4 Million Surety Bond requirements.

The MCSWA is an instrumentality of the County of Maverick and operates its Maverick County Landfill on FM 1021 (El Indio Highway) near El Indio, Texas. The MCSWA operates under its own Board of Directors.

During the March 2, 2015, special meeting, Martinez Rosario & Company turned in their 2012 and 2013 Audits of the MCSWA but did not personally appear to make a formal presentation to the Board. Instead, Board President asked Maverick County Auditor Fidencio Ortiz if had had an opportunity to review both the 2012 and 2013 Audits submitted by CPA Milo Martinez on behalf of Martinez Rosario & Company. County Auditor Ortiz advised the MCSWA Board of Directors that he had reviewed the 2012 and 2013 Audits and that they appeared to be in generally acceptable accounting principles and ready for Board approval.

County Auditor Ortiz stated that all seemed in the clear as to the 2012 and 2013 Audits.

The MCSWA Board of Directors unanimously approved to accept the 2012 and 2013 Audits prepared by Martinez Rosario & Company, alleviating the concerns previously raised by the $4 Million Surety Bond company. Pending for approval is the 2014 Audit which is still being worked on by Martinez Rosario & Company and is expected to be completed and presented in April of 2015.

The MCSWA sustained considerable losses of funds as former General Manager Hector Daniel Chavez, Jr. was indicted and subsequently plead guilty to over $62,000 of theft of funds by a federal grand jury. U.S. District Judge Alia Moses for the Western District of Texas, Del Rio Division, in Del Rio, Texas, sentenced the former MCSWA General Manager Hector Daniel Chavez, Jr. to 65 Months in federal prison plus three years of Community Supervision after release from prison, 800 Hours of Community Service, and have to pay $201,059.71 in restitution to Maverick County, Texas. The MCSWA Board of Directors corrected these deficiencies by appointing Mike Castillo as the new MCSWA General Manager.