The Brownfield City Council met in a regularly scheduled meeting Thursday morning March 4, 2021, The agenda had several items listed, however a few of them were tabled. After the call to order and approval of the last meeting’s minutes, the council moved the executive session (closed door) from second to last to the first working item. The council met behind closed doors for about 25 minutes and took no action from the session. After not taking action, the council went to item #8 which was to hear and consider the annual report from the City Inspector office.
According to the City Inspector Israel Limon, the city had total of 177 building permits given out in 2020. The majority were from roofs, carports, and storages. Also there 399 total permits issued for electrical, mechanical and plumbing, and plumbing having the most which was 263.
Next the council approved of canceling the municipal election for the two at-large positions and the district 4 election due to no opposition. District 5 election will be held because it is contested.
The next item of business was to hear and consider the annual racial profile report from the Brownfield Police Chief Tony Serbantez.
According to Chief Serbantez, the Brownfield Police Dept. has filed their full report and information has been given to the State Law Enforcement Commission. The Brownfield Police Dept. has adopted a detailed written policy on racial profiling. The policy is:
- 1) Clearly defines acts constituting racial profiling;
- 2) Strictly prohibits peace officers employed by the Brownfield Police Department from engaging
- in racial profiling;
- 3) Implements a process by which an individual may file a complaint with the
- Brownfield Police Department if the individual believes that a peace officer employed
- by the Brownfield Police Department has engaged in racial profiling with respect
- to the individual;
- 4) Provides public education relating to the agency’s complaint process;
- 5) Requires appropriate corrective action to be taken against a peace officer employed by the
- Brownfield Police Department who, after an investigation, is shown to have engaged in
- racial profiling in violation of the Brownfield Police Department policy;
- 6) Requires collection of information relating to motor vehicle stops in which a citation is issued and
- to arrests made as a result of those stops, including information relating to:
- a. the race or ethnicity of the individual detained;
- b. whether a search was conducted and, if so, whether the individual detained consented to
- the search;
- c. whether the peace officer knew the race or ethnicity of the individual detained before
- detaining that individual;
- d. whether the peace officer used physical force that resulted in bodily injury during the stop;
- e. the location of the stop;
- f. the reason for the stop.
- 7) Requires the chief administrator of the agency, regardless of whether the administrator is elected,
- employed, or appointed, to submit an annual report of the information collected under Subdivision
- (6) to:
- a. the Commission on Law Enforcement; and
- b. the governing body of each county or municipality served by the agency, if the agency is
- an agency of a county, municipality, or other political subdivision of the state.
- The Brownfield Police Department has satisfied the statutory data audit requirements as prescribed in
- Article 2.133(c), Code of Criminal Procedure during the reporting period.
The BPD show there were 1752 total stops. 1110 were on city streets, 533 were on US highways, one on a county road, 35 on a state highway, and 73 on private property or other. In the report, the question “Was race or ethnicity known prior to a stop?” According to the documents released, there were 1698 stops that an officer did not know the race or ethnicity of the person being stopped. There were 54 people known prior to a stop.
There were 864 Hispanic/Latino individuals stopped, 712 white, 169 Black/African American, five Asian/Pacific Islander, and two Alaskan Native/American Indian who were stopped. Of all those who were stopped there were 1210 males and 542 females. Reasons for the stops was 422 violations of law, 44 pre-existing knowledge, 994 moving traffic violations, and 292 vehicle traffic violations.
There were 265 searches conducted during a stop, which 128 were Hispanic/Latino, 99 white, 37 Black/African American, and one Alaskan Native/American Indian. Reasons for the searches were 96 consents, 15 had contraband, 130 were probable cause, five were inventory, and 19 were incidents to arrest. There was 162 items of contraband discovered during the searches. 85 were drugs, six were weapons, one was currency, 45 were alcohol, one was stolen property, and 24 other. The results from the stops were 1174 verbal warnings, 40 written warnings, 428 citations, 33 citations and arrests, and 77 resulted in arrests. There were no complaints of racial profiling.
The council then went to the next item which was to hear and consider the monthly finance report. According to City manager Jeff Davis, since the beginning of the fiscal budget which began October 1, 2020 shows there has been $2,133,259.03 expended of the $7,456,444.00 general fund budgeted expenditures. That is 28.61% of the budget. The total budget revenue is $20,650,272.00 and $5,398,667.66 has been expended. “We are right on target and looking good” Davis told the Council.
The next item was to discuss paving certain streets in Brownfield. In the 2020-2021 fiscal year budget, there were allocations made to begin strip paving streets within the City. City staff was directed to present the Council’s selection of which streets need to be strip paved in order to begin the cost estimation process. At the February 18, 2021 meeting the Council selected streets and requested that staff present an estimated total cost for paving at the following meeting. However, the Council tabled this item. It will be brought back to the Council in a future meeting.
The Council went to the next item of business to discuss and consider an extension, renewal, amendment, or cancel the Declaration of Local Disaster-Mayoral Order due to the severe winter weather impact in the City of Brownfield. On February 25, 2021, the Mayor of the City of Brownfield Tom Hesse issued a disaster declaration due to the impacts of the historical 2021 Winter Storm, which caused widespread and severe property damage due to prolonged freezing temperatures, heavy snow, and freezing rain. According to Brownfield City Attorney Matt Wade, the Council needed to ratify the Mayoral Order in to receive emergency fund from the state of federal government. The council unanimously approved the ratification of the order.
Next was another consideration of extending, renewing, amending or cancelling the Declaration of Local Disaster-Mayoral Order due to the public health emergency to slow and prevent the spread of COVID-19. At the February 18, 2021 meeting, the Council voted to extend the declaration until March 18, 2021. However, due to Texas Governor Greg Abbotts new Executive Order GA-34 he issued Tuesday March 2, 2021, the council changed the order to copy the governors. This allows, beginning March 10, 2021 that all businesses will be allowed to open 100% and it lift the face covering (masks) mandate. The council approved of the order.
The meeting was adjourned. Councilman Isaiah Bautista was the only member not present at the meeting. The next meeting is to take place on Thursday March 18, 2021 at 7:30 a.m. in the council chambers at City Hall.
