Jan. 03, 2020
Office of the Editor The Rio Grande Gazette 425 S. Main St. Anthony, TX 79821
Mayor, Councilmembers, Town Clerk, And Atty. Enrique Palomares Town of Anthony 401 Wildcat Drive Anthony, TX 79821
RE: Request for Information under the Open Records Act
Mayor Benjamin Romero, Mayor Pro-Tem Shawn Weeks, Town Clerk Norma Gonzalez and Councilmen Enrique Chavez, Luis Alfaro and Joe Garcia, and Town Atty. Enrique Palomares:
The Rio Grande Gazette respectfully requests the following information:
Early last year, Ben Romero vacated his office of councilman and moved into the mayor’s office after the sudden resignation of former Mayor Lerma. Please explain to us at The Rio Grande Gazette why the Council has never filled the vacated Council position. Are there plans to fill the position? If so, when?
Please explain why the Council cancelled Town Council elections the past two years. The Gazette understands that no sitting councilman filed for reelection, but that each councilman later reappointed himself to a new two-year term. Was this a coincidence or planned to save costs, as we have heard?
Several individuals have approached the newspaper with accusations that Mayor Romero was found guilty on three occasions of criminal or misdemeanor charges. Is this true? If so, what are the charges? Mayor, what is your response to the convictions? Would this not impair your qualifications to serve as mayor?
If the above rumors are untrue, can you explain the situation to us?
The Gazette asked Police Chief Carlos Enriquez back in December 2018 if he had a police record. He stated it was something related his domestic relationship, but that the charge was dropped, and there was nothing to it. Nevertheless, the Gazette continues to hear rumors that Chief Enriquez may have been found guilty on other charges. Are these rumors true? Any outstanding reprimands or charges? If not, why the rumors? What is the chief’s explanation of the situation?
Because none of our Council members has stood for election, each is considered “appointed.” Please clarify the election schedule, filing application process and filing deadline for each Council office, including the office of mayor.
The Gazette notices that the Town Council, when in session, chooses not to adopt or approve the minutes of previous meetings. If minutes are not officially adopted, aren’t decisions made at those meetings void or meaningless? How is Council keeping track of its decisions? Significantly, the Gazette cannot find the minutes of many Council meetings held in the past year and half. Based on this experience, the Gazette requests copies of all Council meeting minutes, and any resolutions passed for the period September 2018 through December 2019, to include any special meetings as well.
On Dec. 31 the Gazette received an email from the Town stating the 2017-’18 audit of Anthony’s accounting records has not been completed. The Gazette appreciates the Town’s candor on this subject. Because an overdue audit can raise suspicions, please explain in greater detail for our citizens why the audit is delayed and what the Council is doing to assure its completion.
The Gazette requests a copy of receipts submitted to the Town or payment made by the Town on behalf of any Anthony elected/appointed official, their spouse, staff member or staff guest or spouse who visited or dined in San Antonio, TX, in October 2019. We ask because photos from an October trip appeared on a family member’s Facebook page and show several Anthony elected officials, their spouses, and at least one member of Town staff dining at a San Antonio event sponsored by one of Anthony’s largest contractors.
Based on the photo, The Gazette asks for a list of names of all individuals from Town government–elected, appointed or staff member–who attended this event. The Gazette also seeks the name of any spouse or partner of a Town government official – elected, appointed or staff member–who attended the event.
Our questions:
Was the San Antonio trip approved by Town Council? If so, where on the agenda does it appear? What was the purpose of the trip, and please tell us why so many town personnel went on the trip leaving the town with a skeleton crew? If the Town did not approve the trip, did it cover the costs (or agree to eventually cover the costs) of any individual(s) who attended the event? If so, list the names of those who costs were covered or for whom the Town agreed to cover the costs. If this is not the case, then who or what company, nonprofit and/or institution, public or private, covered the costs?
How did Town officials learn of the event? List the name(s) of the event sponsor(s).
Please provide a list of everyone who uses or is authorized to use a Town credit card.
We at the Gazette believe these are reasonable requests for information that should be available to the general public and citizens of Anthony, Texas. If there are any fees for searching or copying these records, please inform me if the cost will exceed $1. However, I would also like to request a waiver of all fees in that the disclosure of the requested information is in the public interest and will contribute significantly to the public’s understanding of the operations or activities of the city government.
I am requesting these records as a representative of the news media from the Rio Grande Gazette in Anthony, TX. This information request is related to news gathering purposes and not being sought for commercial purposes.
I will expect a response within 10 working days as provided by law. If access to the records I am requesting will take longer than this amount of time, please contact me within information about when I might expect copies or the ability to inspect the requested records. If you deny any or all this request, please cite each specific exemption you feel justifies the refusal to release the information and notify me of the appeal procedures available to me under the law.
Respectfully,
Editor
cc: Office of the Texas Attorney General Austin, TX 78711, Attorney Bernard Felsen