FORMER HARLINGEN CITY COMMISSIONER ROBERT LEFTWICH TELLS IT LIKE IT REALLY IS IN THE CULT WORLD OF BOSWELL!

CITY COMMISSIONER ROBERT LEFTWICH 

To  Harlingen Mayor Chris  Boswell and Harlingen District 2 City Commissioner Tudor Uhlhorn. 

A recent Boswell campaign ad declaring that he listened to citizens and has kept property taxes low, comparing Harlingen’s tax rate to much smaller cities like Combs, Santa Rosa, Rio Hondo and dozens of other tiny  towns in the Cameron county area is disingenuous and misleading to voters. 

The general fund is primarily funded through property and sales taxes. An honest comparison would have been against similar cities in size, property values and retail sales. Harlingen , Brownsville and McAllen all annually have over a billion dollars in retail sales, yet Harlingen has the highest property tax rate. 

When Boswell first took office as a commissioner, the city’s tax rate was around 49 cents per hundred, now it’s much higher at 59 cents. Also, the city’s debt was only a few million dollars, now it’s 10′s of millions of dollars and the interest payment alone for taxpayers is hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. 

Over the last decade or so under Boswell, water and sewer rates, property tax rates and public debt have grown faster than at any other time in the history of Harlingen.

Since the building boom of the school district, and its heavy-handed taxation, we have heard little about building activities in Harlingen .(except the occasional burger/taco joint).  The fact is, besides forced annexation increasing the property tax base, Harlingen building activities are at the bottom of the list when compared to other similar sized cities in the Valley. No doubt a result of over a decade of steady increases in fees and taxes affecting the Harlingen economy.  

(example: 1st offence for your city licensed dog breaking his leash and running loose until you can find him is now over $300-Boswell/Uhlhorn/Mesmar/Leal have turned all city employees into 'revenue agents' not servants of the people!)

Then we read about the Baxter building, and the money-losing lopsided property trade our city leaders dealt taxpayers. Using job-creating economic development corporation money on horse trading a $700,000 plus commercial property for a $100,000 dilapidated zombie money pit. And now, it is uncovered, that instead of the money helping to bring in jobs to help reduce the community’s need for subsidized housing, they are wasting jobs money on subsidized housing.   

With Tudor Uhlhorn as commissioner, interestingly, there is a large new produce freezer paid for by Harlingen taxpayers in Los Indios where he owns warehouses and will benefit, but no playground equipment at the Bonham park, or speed bumps for Bonham school to protect school children from speeders, which is in his own district. 

If you like a garage sale economy from illogical and wasteful government spending and backroom insider dealings, then continue to vote for the status quo, but if you don’t, it’s time for changes. 

IT'S HIGH TIME WE ENDED THE BOSWELL CULT!