• Originally published July 23, 2009 at 7:59 a.m., updated July 23, 2009 at 8:05 a.m.

• Have a question for 'Watchdog'?

  To submit questions, e-mail watchdog@vicad.com, post them to the "Watchdog" blog or call Advocate Public Service Editor Gabe Semenza at 361-580-6519. No topic is off-limits.

GOLIAD - Some upset Goliad folks say a transaction between the sheriff and a commissioner left them out of the loop on county business.

Goliad County Sheriff Kirby Brumby sold Commissioner Jim Krenek a $5,500, county-owned generator for county use. The men then asked the auditor to transfer funds from one office to the other. They didn't present the deal to the commissioners court for approval.

Those upset by the transaction said that's no way to conduct county business.

Others, however, said the criticism is politically motivated. The deal didn't break the law or any ethics policy, they said, and the transaction saved the county tens of thousands of dollars.

Krenek needed a generator, he said, to support emergency management offices in case of power outages during a disaster. He heads a county renovation project.

He found generator costs range from $20,000 to $70,000. The sheriff's office had a used generator, though, and Brumby offered it to Krenek for $5,500.

"Instead of buying one outside Goliad and sending money out of the county, I bought the sheriff's and kept the money in the county," Krenek said. "I felt it was in the best interest of taxpayers."

Krenek said he was surprised when last week's commissioners court agenda included a line item to discuss the transaction.

Other commissioners scolded Krenek for the deal. A 3-2 vote forced the auditor to move the $5,500 from the sheriff's office budget back into the renovation fund. The generator, though, stays with the emergency management office.

County Judge Harold Gleinser added the line item to the agenda after spotting the transaction, he said.

"I don't think it was intentional, but I didn't think that was the proper procedure for doing things," Gleinser said. "To get that reversed, I figured I'd go to commissioners court with it. I just wanted the money to be in the right place."

Commissioner Jerry Rodriguez agreed.

"I know the commissioner was trying to do the right thing, but you should do it the right way," Rodriguez said. "The auditor shouldn't do things like that either. The only group who can change the budget is the commissioners court."

Goliad County Attorney Rob Baiamonte said the deal was legal, and that other commissioners have closed similar deals with other county employees.

"There's nothing that says you can do that and nothing that says you can't," Baiamonte said.

State law requires all county purchases of greater than $25,000 to be open to public bids, the lawyer said. The county has a similar policy that requires a commissioners court vote on all purchases of $5,000 or more.

"That county policy has zero application in this instance," Baiamonte said. "You can't buy something you already own."

The courts' three Democrats, including Gleinser and Rodriguez, disagreed with the deal and voted to return the funds from the sheriff's office to the rehab fund. The sheriff, Krenek and their one court supporter are Republicans.

"They did this to make the sheriff look bad and, in the meantime, they tried to assassinate me along with it," Krenek said. "It was a political move. That's all it was."

Rodriguez disagreed.

"This wasn't political. Krenek increased the sheriff's budget by $5,500," Rodriguez said. "No one can increase the budget but the commissioners court."

Brumby, a first-term sheriff, charged $5,500 for the generator to cover bills incurred during the last administration, he said. The court denied him those funds earlier this year.

Victoria County Commissioner Gary Burns, a Republican, said the deal made good sense.

"Normally, we run it through court as a budget amendment, but I don't have to check with a commissioner if I spend $5,500," Burns said. "I think somebody in Goliad is doing a lot of thinking outside the box and saving the county a lot of money."

Gabe Semenza is the Public Service Editor for the Advocate. Contact him at 361-580-6519 or gsemenza@vicad.com, or comment on this story at www.VictoriaAdvocate.com.

• Print
• •
• Share
  • Share this item

    Send this to a friend

  • Grab the link

    Copy and paste the link:

  • Blog about it

    Blog about this page.

  • Close
• •
• Favorite