City Leaders Excited About Prospect of Leaving San Angelo

San Angelo CIty Manager Harold Dominguez will bolt for the Rocky Mountain foothills, taking the city manager job in Longmont, Colorado. The TimesCall reported:

"I think the future's bright for Longmont," he (Harold Dominguez) said. "I'm excited about the opportunity to be considered and to be part of that future."

His deputy, Assistant City Manager Elizabeth Grindstaff, is a finalist for the city manager slot in Burleson, Texas.  The Standard Times reported:

"I'm excited at the opportunity," Grindstaff said.

Burleson is "vibrant," while Longmont is "moving forward."

"I did not know Mr. Dominguez was also in the running" for a new job when she applied for the Burleson position, Grindstaff said. "Timing was interesting to say the least."

Yes, the timing is interesting.   Did City Council excite paid staff right out of San Angelo?

Update 2-7-12:  Council appointed CFO Michael Dane as Interim City Manager. Will Michael pull a Harold and rise to the official slot?  Dane said he'd like the job.  Might Council decide by May?  There's more than one job with that goal.

Update 2-9-12:  Assistant City Manager Elizabeth Grindstaff is also excited to stay in San Angelo.  She withdrew her name on February 8.

Texas Suspension: ASU Athletes vs. Governor Perry

Before Texas Governor Rick Perry "suspended" his Presidential run, Angelo State University administrators reinstated over 20 "suspended" student athletes. 

Rick Perry failed more than once to identify the three departments he would eliminate as President.  Nearly two dozen ASU athletes  failed to keep a 2.0 grade point average in their major.  This slated them for a semester off, per university policies, OP 10.04 and OP 1007.  ASU's website states:

Students on Academic Suspension
Students who were suspended at the end of their last term in attendance may appeal to the dean of their college to be reinstated. Students must complete their appeal prior to the first day of classes for the upcoming semester. Contact the dean of your college if you have questions regarding your suspension. For specific information regarding suspension regulations, please refer to the University Catalogs.

Did all reinstated athletes follow this procedure, appealing to the dean of their college?  If not, SACS might like to know.  Accrediting bodies evaluate an organization on its ability to follow procedures.

ASU's suspension policy is clear, establishing a bare minimum which allows departments to enact stricter requirements.  For example, suspended students need to fill out a Request for Release of Academic Suspension for the College of Business.  

Will Rick Perry fill out a similar Request for Release of Presidential Suspension in 2016?  Simple words have little meaning anymore, at least to ASU and Governor Perry.  Here's to a viable path forward for ASU's accreditation.

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MedHab to Choose by Valentine's Day

 

On January 5th MedHab's President Johnny Ross said he would decide within 35 to 40 days between San Angelo and Abilene for his company's manufacturing site.  That puts the decision at Valentine's Day at the latest.

San Angelo's economic development package appears to be a sweetheart deal for a fledgling company.  How often has City Council offered an employer roughly $3 million in cash incentives?

Add the investment romance between Mayor Alvin New and MedHab and things get more interesting.  City leaders purposefully misled area reporters and the public on Mayor New's stake in MedHab, as well as his board of director position.

Take the City's piece on Council approved MedHab incentives, which stated:

The company has raised $1.8M from less than 10 investors (3 in Austin, 3 in San Angelo, 1 in Lubbock, 2 in Dallas).

The piece stopped at "3 in San Angelo," failing to specify local investors Mayor Alvin New and Randy Brooks, a member of San Angelo's Development Corporation. 

Nine investors ponied up $1.8 million, an average of $200,000 apiece.  The Standard Times indicated New and Brooks held less than 1% of the firm, a $30,000 equity stake.  As MedHab sold equity in $25,000 increments, the other seven investors had to put up an average of $250,000.

Red flags suggest corporate ownership of MedHab stakes.  MedHab's Texas filing had two corporations as board members, NNNN and Deaton Engineering.  Mayor Alvin New has three NNNN corporations on file with the state of Texas.  Deaton Engineering offers medical device design, however its website does not show MedHab as a case/customer.

Deaton helped Neil Bush profit from his Presidential brother's No Child Left Behind.  Neil's Ignite Learning used Deaton to design its COW, curriculum on wheels.  Deaton described the case:

Ignite! came to Deaton Engineering with an urgent need to design and prototype their product concept and begin shipments in just six weeks. The device would be a self-contained unit featuring a built-in computer, LCD projector and speakers. The overriding requirement was that elementary and middle school teachers would be able to simply plug in the device and begin a lesson.

MedHab's timeline isn't quite as urgent, given their Australian product launch will occur in June 2012.  Deaton's news feed is surprisingly light the last eighteen months, especially for a firm with deep capabilities and interesting partnerships

The COSA Development Corp piece showed an additional incentive, not included in City Council slides. 

- an economic development incentive in the form of a reimbursement of up to 25% of costs incurred by the company for building

I would look at the motion made by City Council regarding MedHab for clarification, however this crew has a notorious record in documenting decisions.

San Angelo's economic development package is a sweet non-debt, non-equity capital injection for MedHab.  It should help the company land $3 million in mezzanine financing.  That should boost Mayor New's and Randy Brooks' investment.

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Update 2-16-12:  Deaton Engineering's YouTube site has MedHab videos.

Update 4-17-12:  Valentine's flowers wilted long ago.  MedHab is yet to announce a production site.

Did Harold's Longmont Offer Come from Stiffing Retirees?

San Angelo City Manager Harold Dominguez is the top candidate for Longmont, Colorado's City Manager slot.  He has a month to negotiate a favorable contract though Longmont's headhunter, appropriately titled Slavin Management Consultants.  Many City of San Angelo jobs appear to pay "slavin" wages

This isn't a new phenomenon, given city workers slaved for decades under pitiful wages, all for the promise of lifetime health insurance coverage.  Harold significantly eroded this benefit for the city's early retirees.  He characterized federal money, intended to help keep insurance affordable for early retirees, as "iffy" and "problematic, one time funds."  .

The City refused to use ERRP funds during 2011, when dependent premiums rose from 36 to 58%.  Those increases sent nearly 200 people from the rolls of the insured.

Harold will apply ERRP funds in 2012 in order to "reduce federal strings."  Expending ERRP funds, in a year where the city expects major savings from an exclusive provider arrangement, appears to violate the one string that employers maintain their level of contribution toward health insurance.

Longmont proposed changing its retirement plan for city workers, making it far less generous.  How did the December 2011 City Council vote go?  Also, Longmont received nearly $200,000 in ERRP money.  How might Harold put his signature stamp on it?

According to retired police chief Russell Smith, a number of San Angelo's early retirees have to choose between medicine and food, as health insurance premiums exploded under a fixed income.  The lucky ones found a new job to pay for their health insurance.  The unlucky?  They may be happy to see Harold go.

"I think the future's bright for Longmont," he (Harold Dominguez) said. "I'm excited about the opportunity to be considered and to be part of that future."

Longmont City Employees should do their research.  Slavin could be their retirement future, which might not be so bright under Harold.

Update 1-27-12:  Harold accepted Longmont's offer. He's ready to move Longmont forward, likely at the expense of retirees. 

Tom Green County's Cash Cow Continues Full Bore

The Tom Green County Indigent Health Program came in $700,000 under budget fund for the year ended August 31, 2011.  The County budgeted over $2 million, but spent less than $1.3 million, counting $1 million in Upper Payment Limit (UPL) contributions.  The $700,000 savings made its way to the County's general fund.

The long standing pattern held as county leaders reported spending a mere $69,888.66 the last four months, That doesn't include UPL funds allocated to San Angelo's two area hospitals.  It's less than $17,500 per month for Esperanza Clinic and independent providers caring for indigent patients..

The county is required to budget 8% of its general tax levy for Indigent Care, which amounts to $2.2 million for 2012.  Giving the County a $1 million credit for its UPL contributions, that leaves $1.2 million to spend on indigent care.  At the current rate of spending the county will pay $210,000 though 8-31-12, which translates to another $1 million transfer to the general fund. 

It's a decade long cash cow, which may be used to "increase yields to reduce taxes.".

Shannon Gets Bigger Chunk of Smaller UPL Pie

Tom Green County Commissioners awarded Shannon Medical Center a greater share of Upper Payment Limit monies.  Tom Green County contributes $1 million per year, which is levered by the state and federal government.  Shannon's share of UPL money rose from 80% to 85%, which sounds like a badly needed shot in the arm for San Angelo's safety net hospital,. burdened by state budget cuts and the City's exclusive provider arrangement with Community Medical Center.  It's not.

The match decreased from 3.55 to 2.5, so Shannon gets a bigger slice of a smaller pie.   Of the $1.05 million cut, Shannon's hit is $655,000, while SACMC loses $385,000. 

Shannon's stress is not alleviated by this move, not in the least.

City Leaders Duped Reporter on MedHab

San Angelo City leaders duped the public and a talented reporter on Mayor Alvin New's ties to Medhab LLC.  The first misrepresentation centered on Mayor New's position at MedHab.  The Standard Times reported New as a member of MedHab's advisory board.  This was patently false.  MedHab's website listed New as a member of the board of directors and not on their advisory board.  When I notified Kiah Collier, she wrote back:

I reported that because that's what Donna Osborne told me. I called her this morning and she said she told me that because New is an adviser to MedHab, i.e. serves in an advisory capacity on its board of directors. We'll run a clarification tomorrow.  Thanks.

Board members provide governance, a considerable step up from advice. They are either independent board members or insiders.  Osborne's language is typical of today's leaders, obfuscating facts with language. Frankly, it's sad.

The second misrepresentation dealt with substantial investment and corresponding conflicts of interest.  The Standard Times stated:

City staff said New and Brooks have chosen voluntarily to recuse themselves from all votes and discussion on the MedHab deal, even though they do not have substantial interest in the company, defined as owning 10 percent or more of the company's voting stock or shares or $15,000 or more of its fair market value.

This also is patently false.  Mayor Alvin New filed two affidavits, one in May and another in November 2011, regarding his substantial conflict of interest in MedHab LLC.  .

Mayor Pro Tempore Charlotte Farmer and City Manager Harold Dominguez could've shown up with Mayor New's affidavits and laid everything out on the table and the merits discussed. By not being forthcoming City leaders look mendacious and manipulative. It's becoming a pattern with this group.

Oddly, a Standard Times' poll finds the public appalled by the lack of ethics, with 82% voting the city acted inappropriately in changing its ethics rules.  The fodder exists for a follow-up piece, which take awhile given Kiah's leaving for the Houston Chronicle.  While Kiah reports on shipping, will Mayor New's MedHab ship come in?