By Armando Castellanos, El Paso Metro
If County Judge Dolores Briones is to be believed, the state of the County is as close to Heaven as humanly possible. Just look at the evidence: The County did not increase taxes but rather “tax revenue” increased because of property valuations. Hmmmm. The County did not add to the tax burden but rather passed a few million dollars in Certificates of Obligation (COs). Hmmmm. The County added a planning department at an increasing cost to the taxpayers and this is a good thing but there is no product to show for the money. Hmmmm. The County gets along wonderfully with the City. Mayor Caballero simply misspoke yesterday that the County was not doing its part for the community. Hmmmmm. The County added a Community Development Department at an increasing cost to the taxpayers and this is a good thing. Hmmmm. The County attracted millions in grant funding for colonias at “no cost” to the taxpayers (refer to previous bullet) and no word on how the County will pay to maintain new facilities and new parks nor how the resident participants will be compensated when the grants run out. Hmmmm. Of course, the port of entry was an achievement on a par with the sham Border Health Institute. The fact the Mayor and County Judge state that such things will happen will make them so. Right? Why quibble about the millions necessary to make them hard physical “realities.”
His beautifulness, Mayor Caballero, was in the audience, appreciating her wonderfulness, Judge Briones. The successes were so electrifying that no doubt the spirits if not the bodies of Cindy Ramos, Bob Snead, Tom Thompson, Ada Gonzalez, Sergio Lewis and, his Tax Dutifulness, Paul Strelzin were present genuflecting with lips smacking applauding and whooping and a-hollering before such grandeur. That both his beautifulness and her wonderfulness are breath-taking tellers of tall tales has escaped the notice only of the El Paso Times.
