I appreciate the plight of “lawful” migrants, but I totally agree with John Grady’s perspective on Harlingen city officials rushing to use local taxpayer money so eagerly.
After every summer, we hear from one of the nation’s highest-paid city managers (Dan Serna) that property taxes have to be increased and that he has to cut department budgets and understaff public safety just to keep the increase at what it is.
As my wife and I have been flooded out of our home more than once, the travesty of the matter is that literally thousands of other local property tax-paying Harlingen families were also forced out of their homes from drowning floods over the last couple of years.
The only relief our city manager proposed and puppet commissioners Mike Mezmar and Victor Leal provided from the city’s $500,000 disaster relief fund was $13,000 for sandbags. Nothing for hotel rooms or long-term use of city facilities, as they will have local taxpayers paying for the anticipated continued influx of illegals.
I guess Boswell was right about his pet destination park and convention center project drawing out-oftowners into our money-losing facilities, restaurants, parks and hotels.
But apparently, it’s only after taxpayers put money in their pockets to do so.
No wonder he is rushing to build the $3 million oversized gazebo in Fair Park (where my property floods) without voter approval and before next month’s election. He is afraid that his puppet commissioners won’t survive after 10 years of trying to hoodwink us.Harlingen is growing faster than the McAllen and Brownsville areas. Thanks to Commissioners Leal and Mezar’s lack of leadership, sadly, the only things growing in Harlingen are mortgage payments from their increased taxes and bloating federal flood insurance premiums.
Fortunately, there is a city election next month, and we voters have some fresh options to change Harlingen for the better. Please go vote!
Jerry Prepejchal, Harlingen
