rosa
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Post by rosa on Jul 5, 2009 6:43:01 GMT -7
So, what's the REAL story here? What are they doing that won't make it into the news?! Watch your reps and how they behave...Perez is quoted as saying the reason she's going for the proposed budget is because she understood they had a deadline to meet?!
This is from the El Paso TimesCentral Appraisal District: Reps seek rejection of agency's 2010 budget By David Burge / El Paso Times Posted: 07/04/2009 11:08:38 PM MDT EL PASO -- The Central Appraisal District is facing a revolt from two of its board members over its budget. West Side city Rep. Ann Morgan Lilly, who sits on the appraisal district's board of directors, called the budget "totally bloated." Lilly is asking the City Council to discuss the appraisal district's budget Tuesday and reject the agency's spending plan for 2010. County Commissioner Anna Perez, who also sits on the CAD board, has a similar resolution that she is asking her fellow county commissioners to approve Monday. Lilly said the gesture "is largely symbolic," as she does not expect enough of the other taxing jurisdictions in the county to follow suit and force the budget to be reworked. The Central Appraisal District appraises residential and commercial property in El Paso County and sends a list of taxpayers to each of 30 taxing jurisdictions, including the city, the county, the school districts and the smaller municipalities. A nine-member board, representing the taxing entities, oversees the appraisal district. Lilly said she questioned numerous items in the budget, "but I didn't get satisfactory answers." Dinah Kilgore, interim executive director and chief appraiser for the appraisal district, was out town and unavailable for comment. No one else at the agency is authorized to speak to reporters. On June 11, the CAD board approved a $12.4 million budget, according to documents Lilly has. That is a 1.69 percent increase from this year. Lilly voted against the budget. The appraisal district had originally proposed a budget that was 4.97 percent higher than this year, Lilly said. But when she and David Almonte, director of the city's office of management and budget, raised questions, the budget was scaled back, they said. A summary of the budget says the 1.69 percent increase is the smallest increase in the past six years. "This keeps pace with the current economic situation while remaining cognizant of the mandatory duties required of appraisal districts across the state," the budget summary stated. Most of the increase is because of an increase in health insurance premiums and "keeping up with technological advances in our field," the document added.Almonte said he still has concerns about the budget. "I want them to be as frugal as possible," he said. "The more frugal their budget, the less cost is passed on to us and in turn to our citizens." The city of El Paso is scheduled to pay the CAD about $2.9 million for appraisal services during the next fiscal year. Each taxing entity pays a fee to the CAD based on a formula designed to assess their "fair portion" of supporting the appraisal district, Almonte said.This formula is based on the percentage of the total county tax levy that's contained in each taxing jurisdiction. About 23.5 percent of the county tax levy falls inside the city of El Paso, so the city pays 23.5 percent of the CAD's costs, Almonte said. As a belt-tightening move, the city is proposing to cut 2.3 percent from its overall budget and to reduce spending by $16 million under a proposal from City Manager Joyce Wilson.The city's next budget proposes a wage freeze for most of its 6,100 workers and asks for concessions from unionized firefighters and police officers that would save $1.8 million. "I feel that every entity should be tightening its belt, and the CAD should be no different," Almonte said. Perez said she has similar concerns. She said the CAD budget eliminated pay increases for top managers, but still left merit raises for other employees. The agency has about 140 employees, according to its budget. County employees, meanwhile, face a pay freeze, and some may even see their hours reduced, Perez said. "For at least one year, (the CAD) should consider freezing salaries," she said. When a family faces challenging economic times, Perez said, it looks to cut expenses. "The CAD is just the opposite," she said. "They'll decide how much they want to spend. If they don't spend it, they just give it back (to the member taxing entities). That's not right." But, Perez said, she voted for the budget, simply so the CAD could meet its state-imposed deadline.Lilly said she was concerned about several items in the CAD budget. She pointed out that the agency planned to spend $166,094 on furniture and equipment. Only $810 was spent on such items during the last budget cycle.She also singled out $8,000 for the chief appraiser to travel, $400,000 for legal services and $541,220 for professional services.A budget category labeled "contingency fund" totals $379,882.
"I don't know what that is, and when I ask, I don't get a satisfactory answer," Lilly said.The CAD budget also has $4,500 for ground maintenance, Lilly said, and "they have an asphalt parking lot." The city is allowed two representatives on the CAD board, but the other is vacant. It was held by former Northeast city Rep. Melina Castro, who was defeated in June by Carl L. Robinson. East-Valley city Rep. Eddie Holguin Jr. said Lilly asked tough questions on the CAD board. Holguin also has concerns about the agency's budget. "Every budget has some fluff," he said, "but this budget seems to be a little too fluffy." David Burge may be reached at dburge@elpasotimes.com; 546-6126. Okay, as a registered voter, taxpayer and citizen, I guess I just don't understand how to crunch numbers--that must be it. MHMR can't get their act together, other health service limits/closures are adversely affecting our poorest citizens and even our deceitful city manager tries to sell us on the "deal" we're getting in that she keeps her associate/assistant pool (more wasteful spending) but others in the city/county are "tightening their belts"
Lilly sits on the board and has "concerns" about the CAD budget and the fact that her questions are going unanswered....this is the city representative with loads of experience in real estate, marketing, etc....who once famously said she rode on a local bus once
How did we get here? Why are we footing the bill for these people?
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Post by flash on Jul 5, 2009 18:55:07 GMT -7
Rosa Most of the CAD board members are rubber stamps. The board needs to be cleaned out and replaced. They are not standing up for the tax payers or the citizens. Kilgore and her management team have failed us and also need replacing. Thomas the Flash
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rosa
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Post by rosa on Jul 6, 2009 4:53:40 GMT -7
I agree
Thomas, question: who put them there?
What kind of representation are we getting if our commissioners claim they are voting for inflated budgets for irresponsible reasons? Was this a misquote or did Ana Perez actually say this?
I'm really tired of hearing one thing come out of a representative's/official's mouth and then seeing where they really stand when it comes to what they vote for
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Post by Tim Collins on Jul 16, 2009 14:39:36 GMT -7
Three Cheers for Thomas the CAD Slayer! Hip Hip Hooray!newspapertree.com/news/4059-cad-release-of-confidential-law-enforcement-information-under-investigationJuly 16, 2009 CAD release of confidential law enforcement information under investigation by Sito Negron and David Crowder El Paso's law enforcement and judicial agencies spent several anxious days this week because the El Paso Central Appraisal District inadvertently released the names and addresses of as many as 1,300 people who signed CAD forms to keep their information confidential. Those people included agents from the multiple federal agencies that operate in the area, heightening the anxiety given the extreme Drug War violence taking place in Juarez. In addition, the list includes judges, police officers, prosecutors and domestic violence targets, all categories of people who are allowed under the Texas Tax Code to keep their information confidential. The disc was given to Thomas Dorman, a critic of the CAD who filed a request June 8 for "documentation, e-mails, memos, and any other documents or information pertaining to operational, data entry, errors generated and other problems with the newly implemented software used by the CAD in the calculation or evaluation of property appraisals in the County of El Paso, Texas." In response, the CAD gave Dorman on July 1 a disc with 4 gigabytes of information. When he opened it and began to review the files, he said, he came across an Xcel file titled with the misspelled word "confidential." "When I saw that I closed the disc, put it in its case, and threw it in the corner," he said. Dorman said he attached the file to an e-mail that he sent July 6 to El Paso County Commissioners Anna Perez and Willie Gandara, and to the county attorney's office. He said he did not hear a response, except from Perez, who wrote him an e-mail July 7 saying it was a "very serious issue" and stating she would advise. He said that was the last he heard from her. On July 8 Dorman went to the district attorney's office and county attorney's offices and filed complaints against the Central Appraisal District. Dorman's complaint with the county attorney's office, a civil complaint, stated that the CAD violated the Texas Public Information Act and his rights by doing several things that were not allowed by the act, including asking how the information would be used and taking too long to respond. The county attorney's office did not respond to a request for comment from NewspaperTree before publication. Dorman's complaint to the district attorney's office was a criminal complaint filed under section 552.352, which states that release of confidential information is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 and six months in jail. District Attorney Jaime Esparza said that his office is investigating. "My main concern was the release of their names and addresses because it could compromise their safety," he said. Esparza declined to be specific about the list: "What they do in their regular jobs we can speculate. "For instance, the law enfrcement officers, I couldn't tell you exactly what their jobs are except that they asked their information to be kept private. What they actually do on a day-to-day basis I couldn't tell you." Dorman said that response is part of the problem. While he was concerned about the public safety issue, he said there was another issue at stake that was being swept aside -- the rights of citizens to receive public information requests and the failure of the government agencies charged with keeping records to be truly open. He said the issue of the CAD releasing the information and of what he termed its poor response to his request for records was not seriously addressed until "they saw government agents on the street. Then they went bananas." Dinah Kilgore, the interim chief appraiser at the CAD, said little about the issue. "We are doing an in-house investigation. I’m not at liberty to discuss anything because it could compromise the investing we are doing," she said. Kilgore said that she was instructed by legal staff not to comment further. Dorman said that someone at the county attorney's office realized what the list represented by early this week. Word spread quickly through the judiciary and law enforcement ranks at the local and federal levels, and by Tuesday afternoon the FBI contacted Dorman to ask him to give them the disc, which he did. Dorman also had allowed NewspaperTree.com to copy the disc the day he picked it up, July 1, before the existence of the confidential information was discovered and when the question at hand was in reference to the CAD's software program. The disc needed specialized programs to open many of the files. NPT did not copy or review the disc, instead planning to work with Dorman when he found information relevant to the software program questions. On Wednesday morning, NPT was alerted to the existence of the list. Later that day, NPT made arrangements to give the disc to the FBI, which would delete the list and give it back to NPT. SAC David Cuthbertson released a statement: "The FBI, working with the U.S. Attorney's Office and the County Attorney's Office, endeavored to recover sensitive address information of our employees and other law enforcement officials, which had inadvertently been released to a member of the public, via a Freedom of Information act request. "The citizen, along with NewspaperTree, took voluntary action to return the information to us and allow us to secure it. We appreciate the responsible actions of the citizen and NewspaperTree in this matter."
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Post by flash on Jul 16, 2009 18:55:53 GMT -7
Snill Thanks for the good words.My point is to show no matter your station in life every citizen can challenge and call government to task. Snill you know me I am not a smart person but what I have is called will.More citizens need to get it and call down out of control government.I have exhausted my person in doing what I have done but I am not beaten.I live to fight another day. I do hope others will join me. Thomas the Flash
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rosa
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Post by rosa on Jul 17, 2009 5:46:30 GMT -7
Thomas intelligence shows itself in many, many different ways, and I take issue with your self-effacing assessment. I am convinced you are not only very smart, but very principled and very determined as well. I know a lot of other people will agree with me as I thank you for the time and the effort you've put into holding these people accountable for their behavior "Dorman said that response is part of the problem. While he was concerned about the public safety issue, he said there was another issue at stake that was being swept aside -- the rights of citizens to receive public information requests and the failure of the government agencies charged with keeping records to be truly open.
He said the issue of the CAD releasing the information and of what he termed its poor response to his request for records was not seriously addressed until "they saw government agents on the street. Then they went bananas.' "I read the article and am going to stretch some and assume that like in other cases, this is only part of the story....in my ignorance of all things "computer" it almost sounds like you got not only their collective goat, but a good chunk of info that was stored in their cpu! Imagine if the information they are acknowledging (and the stuff they're not publicizing) had gotten into the wrong hands! please let us know what we can do to help!
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Post by flash on Jul 17, 2009 8:29:32 GMT -7
Rosa and All This is what you can do.Contact all of your representives in government on this issue.Force them to bring all of this into the light of day and hold government accountable.The more that stand up and do this the more government is forced tho address the issue head on,in the open and not in the back rooms and halls of government. Rosa, I am not no saint or angle,any thing butWhen I see other around me being abused by government as a person I am forced to act by my belief system.Part of this comes from my mother who never took crap from government at any level. Thomas the Flash
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Post by flash on Jul 18, 2009 9:07:02 GMT -7
On Monday at the County Commissioners Court the County Attorney has placed an item on the agenda in executive session to discuss my complain.I was asked by Commissioner Perez to speak before the Commissioners Court to give my perspective on this matter during public comment. I hope many of you will make the effort and take the time to make this meeting.If you think I have been wrong in this matter here is your chance to blast me on the record.If you think I have been right here is a chance to lend your support. What every side you take at least get into the process of government. Thomas
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rosa
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Post by rosa on Jul 18, 2009 9:54:50 GMT -7
Thomas
I just want to let you know, for the last couple of days, I have heard from many people, friends and strangers alike, that you have a lot of support on this. There are so many people who work, and can't attend for this or other reasons. But I can guarantee you that even though they may not be present with you in person, they certainly support you and the spirit of what you are doing
I am meeting with some people later on today and I plan to discuss this particular issue, as well as the embedded concerns you have. It seems to me that too much of the focus is being spent on what is important to public officials-yes, it is especially worrisome that private information was released.
But I think it is also very important for the court to hear that you and many others have been dealt with dishonestly and that this appears to be such a common practice, perhaps even endorsed by CCmembers. I will let you know how it goes if you're interested, but I am relatively sure that these concerned are shared.
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Post by flash on Jul 19, 2009 7:48:42 GMT -7
Rosa Any citizen standing up is a good thing in my book. As a friend has told many times in the past,no good deed goes unpunished in El Paso. Just what was done to Lisa Turner by Kilgore and the CAD this community should have been up in arms.But not even a wimper came out of the citizens of El Paso for the most part. Already I am catching hell for doing what was my rights under the law.Speaks volumes to why El Paso has came to where it is today in regards to government.If anyone in El Paso thinks that challenging government is a pillow fight than I feel sorry for them.Government in El Paso is going to kick the citizen butt who think that way.I wish it was different but it is the fact of the matter.Simply El Paso government does not have the basic understanding of what is fair play when it comes to their citizens calling them to task or when it comes to the citizens right to access government. I want this one fact to be understood.I had no obligation, under the law, to raise red warning flags that the CAD had problem before the rendering of records but I did.I had no obligation,under the law, to raise red flags to governement after the rendering of records but once again I did.As my wife as said government would have never been the wiser to what the CAD had done if we would have said nothing. This is the truth. So to all those self rightous citizens out there that are blasting me,at this time, you would not get off your lazy butts and take on out of contrl government but when it is your turn in the barrel do not cry or complain.You did nothing to stop it but run your month and blow hot air. Once again Rosa any support in the matter I can get is a good thing directly or indirectly. Thomas
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rosa
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Post by rosa on Jul 19, 2009 8:55:59 GMT -7
Thomas, I don't know where the negative response is coming from, and it is very disturbing to hear that you are being treated this way!
Please trust in that there are many, many people who appreciate the effort you are making. THey may not be "powerful" people in this city, they are just ordinary citizens. But they are paying attention, and you have a lot more support than you think you do.
And many of these people I am referring to aren't fooled by city officials. They know that they are being lied to, and they understand that city leaders aren't interested in representing regular people, only powerful groups and individuals.
And Thomas, you did have an obligation. To yourself, to your own integrity and to the citizens who still trust in everyday civic responsibility. It's too bad nobody ever thought of encouraging you to run for office.
For what it's worth, I admire and applaud your courage!
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Post by flash on Jul 21, 2009 22:50:06 GMT -7
Well guys the crap with government gets deeper.After speaking at CCC I was told their are those in government mad as hell.Now they want to limit my freedom of speech. This morning to start the day I am called by U.S Marshal service they want a meeting.Then the ELPD was at my door trying to seize my computer and wanted me to give up my rights.They did not get my computer and I do not give up my rights.Then I'm told that the El Paso City attorney does not want to bring changers against the CAD because it is a government agency.Can you say flying political air cover. My wife is mad a hell.By all in government's words we did nothing wrong but actions are speaking otherwise. My rights to my property were violated,My rights to access government were violated,My rights to due process in protection of my papers were violated. And that's just for starter.Than I was encourage to not speak to media or speak in public.The tyrants in government can go to hell.I was asked to speak to the CCC by a County Commissioner, I was reluctant to do so and here is what I get for it.I may have not done a good job but I did my best. If any of you think government cares about most citizens and their rights you do not live in the same world I do.Government wants the people to take a butt kicking and say nothing but thank you and can I have another one. Where this goes I do not know I been made to seem the bad guy and the CAD Saints.What hog wash.
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Post by flash on Sept 23, 2009 15:59:12 GMT -7
E-mail echange on The EPCAD with Commissioner Perez
Mr. Dorman - I am still working on your question but there are a number of issues I am working through with the CAD. This is certainly one of them. Your questions are examples of much broader questions I am dealing with. That I can remember, I do not recall at all that CAMA problems were experienced. First I know of it frankly is when it was brought to me by you.
The Secretary of State did an audit of the CAD I believe in 2006 at the request of Mayor Cook. I will be reviewing it and determining if deficiencies identified there have been addressed. A follow-up regulatory audit, given the problems experienced with the CAMA system, would be appropriate.
We are in the process of hiring an Executive Director/Chief Appraiser - Dinah Kilgore has been the interim for a year and a half. She has applied and is one of the finalist. I can tell you that the law requires very specific credentials for this positon therefore the pool of applicants is very small. I mention this so you know that these issues are a consideration.
Thank you and I will keep you informed. anna
________________________________________ From: Thomas Dorman [drygulch_99@yahoo.com] Sent: Wednesday, September 02, 2009 6:46 AM To: Anna Perez Subject: Re: CAD complaint
Commissioner Perez This has nothing to do with "The disk" and EPCAD's violations of open records.In addition I am not upset with you more like disappointed.My issue was with the the failure of the EPCAD to bring on line the new CAMA system and the flawed appraisal sent out. I sent an e-mail to you on August 16 asking this question, did the EPCAD board know that the EPCAD screwed up the appraisal sent out in May.That the appraisal sent out by the EPCAD that most did not have the Caps values on them and the few that did had the wrong year used. This is not my view or opinion but Dinah Kilgore's own words "major problem".(see E-mail from Dinah Kilgore below) Commissioner Perez my other question is if the EPCAD board knew of this failure and the modest implementation of the new CAMA system,to the tune of a cool half a million dollars for just this year for the system,then why was this not told to the citizens of El Paso? This information could have had a directed impact on the EPCAD budget and more then shows once again the failures of the EPCAD and it's leadership under Ms.Kilgore. I also asked for an investigation of these failures by an independent body,commission or appointed panel.In addition an out side independent audit of the EPCAD. Thank you Thomas Dorman -----------------------EPCAD E-mail------------------------------------- This is the e-mail from the second disk reendered by the EPCAD From: Dinah Kilgore [mailto:dinakilg@epcad.org] Sent: Wednesday, May 13, 2009 1:51 PM To: Osvaldo Morales Subject: RE: True Automation / El Paso Implementation Project
I spoke with David and Octavius. We are still having issues with the RUI and they are working on it. Either David or Octavius will be getting back to you on that. I am releasing for payment Inv. 8682, 8972, and 8973 today. We have had a major problem with the incorrect year being used for capped values. A large percentage of our notices went out without the capped value. I am having IT review this to see where the error occurred either through the conversion process or user error on our part. At this point it is looking like a conversion errror. I even had home owners call me at home to complain! We will get back to you on these issues right away. Dinah -------------------------------------------------------------------------
--- On Tue, 9/1/09, Anna Perez <Perez@epcounty.com> wrote:
> From: Anna Perez <Perez@epcounty.com> > Subject: CAD complaint > To: "Thomas Dorman" <drygulch_99@yahoo.com> > Cc: "jaime.abeytia@gmail.com" <jaime.abeytia@gmail.com> > Date: Tuesday, September 1, 2009, 11:25 PM > Mr. Dorman - > > It came to my attention that Jaime Abeytia wrote in his > blog that you were upset with me and suggested I reach out > to you to address your concerns. As I explained to you > previously, people as yourself that are attentive to the > actions of their government are rare and I appreciate your > feedback (good or bad) to assist me to do my job as a public > servant. > > I should probably assume that your issues with me stem from > the complaint you filed against the CAD. While I have > not communicated with you about the extent of my oversight > over this matter, I can absolutely assure you that the CAD, > their lawyer, the County Attorney and the FBI are well aware > that am seeking an explanation and remedy to the errors > which were committed with your information request. I > am also paying close attention that the CAD complies with > the conclusions and demands set forth by Holly Lytle, to > include employee training, internal investigations and > consequences to the employees who erred in this incident. > > I look forward to your continued feedback. > > Anna Perez
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rosa
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Post by rosa on Sept 24, 2009 4:44:39 GMT -7
Thanks Thomas for including this here
very interesting that she says she wants to look at the outcome of the 2006 audit to address issues she may find pertinent today
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Post by flash on Sept 24, 2009 8:25:39 GMT -7
Rosa People need the call their representives at the City,County and school boards now.They are going to give Ms.Kilgore the job at the top of the EPCAD.If she will not be forthright with us now and hides problems at the EPCAD than in the future she will do the same.Ms.Kilgore has set the bar that her own self interest will come before telling the people,the taxpapers the truth. Inaddition those in local government do no have the will to take on the issues with the EPCAD without the people prompting them and bending their arm. This cash cow is dieased but those in government will prop this diease cash cow up even if the legs are falling off.Rosa it is in the best interest of those in government that they protect the EPCAD because it put tax dollars into government without those in government having to come before the people and raise their taxes. The EPCAD,besides the failure that I have noted ,has been manipulated by those in government to raise property values to cover their bad jugdement in doing the people's business which we are now in the hole for at the City and County. This manipulation of the EPCAD should worry all. Once again I encourage all to call their representives and demand action,answers to the hard questions about the EPCAD and make their position known that Ms.Kilgore must be replace. Rosa, if this is not done people in El Paso in the next three to four years will wish they had acted. Thomas
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