51% property tax increase

[Numbers]

My wife is from a small town 1 mile north of the border. She owns a small lot and trailer there that we have kept for her mother to live in. The town, Progreso is known for its' utter corruption, run by the Vela family. They finally got arrested last month on corruption charges. One son was a mayor, one son was president of the school board and the other dad was in charge of the buses (basically between the three controlling all major assets in the small town). They still have the juice to run the town behind the scenes.
The city held a meeting yesterday. It was "announced" the week before. (The city publishes a small paper of their own that they don't circulate they just put a couple copies in the lobby of the courthouse. The announcement was published there). At the meeting no discussion was allowed before the commision held their vote. They voted to raise property taxes 51%. Seven years and I still can't get used to the way things operate down here. It is a totally different world.

http://www.krgv.com/news/progreso-resid ... n-tax-hike

[Joe Shlabotnik]

Goddamned Obamacare.

[mikechamp]

Sounds like it's time to move dear old Mom.

[heyzeus]

Yo Numbers, my firm represents several cities and school districts down there, but also has had to sue a few as well when they go rogue. It really is amazing. This is one of my cases - a school board basically decided they didn't want to have to face re-election, so they twice voted to extend their own terms beyond what state law allows. The Valley really is its own foreign world!

(btw, we definitely don't represent Progreso!)

[Numbers]

Yo Numbers, my firm represents several cities and school districts down there, but also has had to sue a few as well when they go rogue. It really is amazing. This is one of my cases - a school board basically decided they didn't want to have to face re-election, so they twice voted to extend their own terms beyond what state law allows. The Valley really is its own foreign world!

(btw, we definitely don't represent Progreso!)

I remember that Roma case, had no idea you all were involved. Also when I first moved here 7 years ago the entire Pharr-San Juan school board were arrested if I remember correctly. Unreal stuff.
On the other hand, great Mexican food, so what's a guy to do?

[heyzeus]

Yo Numbers, my firm represents several cities and school districts down there, but also has had to sue a few as well when they go rogue. It really is amazing. This is one of my cases - a school board basically decided they didn't want to have to face re-election, so they twice voted to extend their own terms beyond what state law allows. The Valley really is its own foreign world!

(btw, we definitely don't represent Progreso!)

I remember that Roma case, had no idea you all were involved. Also when I first moved here 7 years ago the entire Pharr-San Juan school board were arrested if I remember correctly. Unreal stuff.
On the other hand, great Mexican food, so what's a guy to do?

Yep, I was one of the lawyers representing the "insurgents" demanding that the school board actually, you know, face elections like the Election Code requires.

I had to look up the Pharr case to remember it, but you're right - that's a colorful situation too. And not atypical at all.

In 2007, the FBI raided school board offices and issued 22 counts of conspiracy and extortion amid allegations that several members of the board received sex, paid vacations, monetary gifts, repairs to their homes, clothing, rifles, and sports tickets in exchange for repeatedly handing valuable school contracts to area construction firms, some of whom also had charges levied against them.Pharr-San Juan-Alamo school board member Rogelio "Little Roy" Rodriguez resigned his seat on the board, before pleading guilty to a federal conspiracy charge

[Numbers]

One of my weirdest experiences was the last time I was called in for Jury duty. Before the selection process the prosecuting attorney gave a brief summary of the case talking "mocho" (throwing spanish words into an english sentence, i.e. "Pues, I was going to buy them pero fueron todos sold out")

[heyzeus]

Heh, a couple of my colleagues who are from the valley and work with valley clients do that a lot. It's both a common and natural way of talking down there, and a deliberate choice by the speaker to convey a sort of raza-friendly folksyness. I've never tried to pull it off. I may know spanish, but I know enough to know not to try to fake it with people that really do.