Let’s take a trip down memory lane (EDC back ‘n forth)

Curmudgeon is watching the waves of change rock the city’s boat to another side now.

The Copperas Cove city council, led by councilman Charlie Youngs, is going to talk on Wednesday about moving the EDC employees out from under the city manager’s control – or, out from under the city – depending on how you phrase it.

Good thing? Bad thing? It all depends.

Mr. Youngs suggested people view the September 2016 city council meeting video when the final decisions were made. Actually, I agree.

I checked out the video on August 16, 2016 instead when the council voted to move the EDC employees under the city manager’s supervision and control.

Control is a bad word and a good word, Curmudgeon sez, depending on how you look at it. Anyhoo, let’s slip back in time to August 16, 2016, when the council voted un-unanimously to do this. The September meeting was when they approved the transition plan that was suggested by the city attorney during the August 16 meeting.

Former councilman Matthew Russell led the charge to move these employees under the city manager supervision, with part of the reasoning so the city could move forward. Councilman George Duncan agreed that everything would remain “exactly the same, with the exception of where the employees fall and that ‘we” need a bit more unified command and control.

Mr. Russell claimed the council had asked the EDC to present projects to them, but those were never seen and he did not think the EDC as it was operating had the city’s best interest in mind. He also said the EDC had asked the council to prioritize projects and when the council did, the EDC balked, and gave the council a “stab in the back” with the EDC asking the council if it was trying to “run the EDC.”

One thing that made me sit up and take notice during that August 16 meeting was when Mr. Russell said every year the EDC has $200,000 to $250,000 in EXCESS it doesn’t spend EVERY YEAR. 

The way the EDC is structured as it was at its creation – a 4A EDC – it can’t just spend money on whatever projects it wants, dear readers. (They ain’t gonna go out and bring us a steakhouse. Sorry.)

Mr. Russell asked why the EDC didn’t help the city with projects every year? Even if the EDC wanted to, it would have to put those projects to the voters at the November election, as required by law.

Curmudgeon here: WELL, WHY NOT? Let’s ask the voters if we would like to see Constitution Drive repaved. Yes, indeed!! What about other areas in the city that need improvement? What about investing money into our former city hall property that has another retro rusty tin can from the 70’s on it that has been vacant for SIX YEARS now?

YES, MR. RUSSELL – let’s put some of that EDC money to good use in a permissible way. Put it to the voters. So why didn’t ANYONE on the existing EDC board propose this?

Mr. Russell said the former EDC director had been asked to sit down with the city manager and discuss things, but it never happened.

Councilman David Morris was in favor, he said, of bringing the employees under the city manager for more accountability. He gave the example of a letter from the Texas Comptroller’s office that stated the EDC’s annual report for fiscal year 2014 had not been filed (as required by law). If brought closer to the city, Mr. Morris said they could make sure reporting is done completely and accurately.

Make sense to me. Is that a drastic move? Maybe. But why was an annual report not filed? Isn’t that basic paperwork?

Mr Morris later said he didn't think the EDC employees becoming city employees would keep them from doing their jobs.

Dear city council, whether you move the employees out from under the city manager or leave them there, you need to take a hard look at why our EDC has been “stuck” at a standstill.

OH, wait a second! Not quite a standstill - there have been TWO performance agreements for businesses that have approached the EDC. Stuck? Standstill? So, somehow, being UNDER the city, we have a little 'spark' of economic development and action by the EDC??!! Wow.

Dear city council, you are making more of this “control” issue than there needs to be made. No matter who you are "under", you still need to get your job done.

Okie-doke, back to the meeting on August 16. Marc Payne, who was on the EDC board back then, said he believed the EDC wanted to be as transparent as possible and that they could have a meeting at any time and all they had to do was call it. He worried if employees would be gotten rid of, and he also claimed the EDC was “bringing in business.” (Good thing I wasn’t drinking anything when I heard him say that – it would have shot out my nose!)

The EDC hasn’t “brought” any business in during that time period.

Mr. Payne also didn’t think the EDC should spend that $250,000 annually just because it had the money because what if something “big” came up and they needed at least $500,000.

SO, MR. PAYNE, WHAT YOU’RE SAYING IS YOU DON’T EVEN WANT TO ASK THE VOTERS IF THERE IS A PERMISSIBLE PROJECT WE COULD APPROVE?

Curmudgeon sez: TALK LIKE THE ABOVE IS NOTHING SHORT OF GOOD OLD BOY-ISM. LET’S CONTROL THINGS AND “SCREW ASKING THE VOTERS.”

It’s about control, y’all – yes, most definitely is. The GOBC (Good Old Boys Club) is doing the VERY thing they balked and bucked at the city manager for supposedly doing. KEEPING CONTROL AWAY FROM THE VOTERS.

Yes, and that November 2016, the VOTERS OF COPPERAS COVE de-funded the EDC by 25% of its funding. The EDC has not crumbled for lack of that 25% funding and still has a VERY HEALTHY budget with a strong lack of direction to get anything done.

HOW YA LIKE THEM APPLES? 

Mr. Youngs, Mr. Payne, Mr. Yancey, and Mr. Manning, trailing along in the GOBC, we VOTERS would like something done and it might not coincide with what YOU want.

Soooooo, at that August 16 meeting, after Mr. Payne was done, EDC board chair Bradi Diaz hopped up to the podium and blasted the council. She was not happy and shared how offended she was.

“Disgusted.” She said the EDC had done nothing but try to work with the council.

(IF SO, WHERE WERE POSSIBLE PROJECTS THE EDC COULD PUT TO VOTERS AS MR. RUSSELL TALKED ABOUT? WAS IT BECAUSE NOBODY ON THE EDC BOARD OR STAFF WANTED TO DO THEM?)

Buddy, I've been here longer than you have!

She said the board had been called “shady” and she had been called a “thief” and the EDC had been transparent.

Oh, I AGREE with her that the EDC has been transparent. Y’all don’t fall out of your chairs at once. 

I do agree. The financial reports and numbers are all there. BUT why didn’t the EDC move at council’s direction with putting permissible projects to the voters? Why not? Why ignore that request?

But then we saw the heart of her offense and this is something that ALL Y’ALL should pay notice to.

This comes directly from that meeting:

Ms. Diaz said: “With all due respect, Matt, I don’t know how you can talk about 10 years with the city of Copperas Cove. I don’t know if you’ve even been here for 10 years for the city of Copperas Cove.  I’ve been here 47 and I’ve been volunteering for 20 consecutively.”

Sooooo, again, basically she said Mr. Russell hasn’t been here long enough so he doesn’t care about Copperas Cove like she does. I’ll give her that. Someone could care about their hometown more than a transplant.

But it also smacks of GOBC. She’s a DEWALD. 

It sounds as though she believes because Mr. Russell hasn’t been here long enough (for her?), he can’t make good decisions and he’s not a bleeding heart where the EDC etc. are concerned. 

What is the requirement to be in the Good Old Boys Club? 

15 years? 20? 25? Do you marry into it? 

So are some voters’ and citizens’ opinions WORTH more than others, based on their longevity in the community?

Curmudgeon is predicting that if the EDC employees do NOT come out from under the city, which they probably will and we will WASTE more money by doing this, Ms. DEWALD Diaz will break her promise about not volunteering and run for city council.  

Then we could have THREE former EDC board members – oh wait, FOUR – on the council come January who will continue running things as they see, and not as the VOTERS see.

Back in 2016, the other individual besides councilman Dan Yancey who voted against the change was councilman James Pierce Jr. he said he believes government and business should be separate as much as possible. He didn’t see how the EDC employees being city employees would bring transparency.

Mr. Pierce said he didn't think making the EDC employees city employees would cause more transparency.: “I fully understand that they need to be autonomous in attracting businesses for the city. One of the things I ran on, we need to bring more effective business, better paying jobs to this area so we are not squandered and sat on by other entities on the other side of the bypass. We need to make ourselves successful. I really believe we need to have some separation and not making them government employees . They should stay autonomous with what they’re doing.”

Okay, I’m done. This is way too long. But I was listening to Mr. Youngs.