Punta Gorda Town is widely known and loved for its quiet and peaceful reputation, but that municipality has within the past week become a hotbed of political controversy, first with the turmoil at Toledo Community College rearing its head in the media last week, and simultaneous allegations of irregularities in the hiring of a records clerk at the Punta Gorda Town Council.
The warfare took a major turn this week when United Democratic Party councilor Floyd Lino accused People’s United Party Mayor Carlos “Obeah” Galvez of wanton spending, and racking up an excessive $4,000 fuel bill—almost a fifth of their monthly subvention—in just over a month for use in his private taxi and tour business.
Speaking with Amandala today, Galvez denies the allegations, claiming that it’s nothing but politics and lies – an attempt to smear his reputation by a man he says wants to replace him as mayor in next year’s municipal elections on the United Democratic Party’s slate.
According to Lino, councilor in charge of “works and health” in P.G. Town, Galvez was responsible for crediting $4,700-plus in fuel between the end of June and early August for vehicles not owned by the P.G. Town Council and used for his private business.
There were a total of 17 receipts of nearly $4,000, said Lino, who supplied us with copies showing instances where 10 to 20 gallons of premium gas or diesel were ordered and signed for by Galvez.
However, Galvez tells Amandala that he did not personally benefit from the fuel, and that the fuel was purchased on credit as a part of the council’s “social obligation” to provide transportation support to local teams, as well as the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides – which, Galvez says, is a better way of sponsoring local efforts than handing over checks.
So where is the proof? We asked Galvez to substantiate his claim, and he provided us with a letter from the Challengers Billiards Club, dated August 20, requesting 30 gallons of diesel to help cover $1,500 in transportation cost for national championship matches. A letter dated July 29, and signed by one Tanya Avila of Toledo Rainforest Female Football team acknowledges receipt of fuel for a Livingston trip.
In the recent weeks, accusations of impropriety have been flying from both sides of the political fence. Galvez complains that the UDP councilors, who are a majority on the P.G. Town Council, had ganged up to appoint the nephew of area representative Peter Martinez, Franklin Martinez, as the council’s administrator in a meeting to which he claims he was not invited, even though he says he was in town at the time.
Galvez said that the administrator’s salary is handsomely fixed at $3,000 per month, with a $150 phone allowance every two weeks – substantially higher than what he claims is his monthly phone allowance.
The PG mayor contends that he continues to face off in a power struggle with the UDP elected officials on the council, and he is even more powerless now that the UDP is running things in Central Government.
But according to Lino, the UDP councilor, the UDP being in power now has only meant better fortunes for the council. Lino said that the new government has “bailed out” the P.G. Town Board with $90,000 in additional funds since February, and has increased their monthly subvention from $18,000 to $23,000 with the new national budget coming into effect in August, and retroactive to April.
Lino says that the UDP faction of the council has proceeded to open a new account at the Bank of Nova Scotia, in which they have deposited the $18,000 Government has given the council to pay the $3,000 monthly salary of the town administrator.
He said that even though the mayor feels the UDP councilors are trying to “hog-tie” his hands and feet, they are merely trying to put proper financial controls in place.
Lino insisted that he has no political agenda in coming forward with the allegations against Galvez, and he said that he, the deputy mayor, Rene Pennell, and another councilor had begun investigations after they learned of the very high fuel bills, and repeated payments to the PUP newspaper Belize Times and to Print Belize, incurred in the name of the P.G. Town Council for ads.
He said that their investigations showed that the mayor was getting one to two tanks of gas, with bills of over $100 and at times over $200, every day or every other day.
He furthermore claims that on one occasion, Galvez’s wife, Nadia Galvez, a former employee of the council, signed for fuel. That bill, incurred on June 26, was for 13.8 gallons of premium gas, totaling $157.45.
Galvez defended the expense, saying that the revenue manager at the council was informed that his wife needed the fuel to pick him up at Kendal Bridge when it was washed away.
“These issues ought to be made public, and the public ought to hear both sides of the story and pass their own judgment. People will understand that everything is political,” Galvez told Amandala.
He said that the management challenges he has been experiencing since he was elected as the only PUP mayor to win and retain a seat in the 2006 municipals is “exactly what happens when you have a mixed council.”
Lino said that on August 20, the PG Town Council passed two resolutions. The first, to keep the council’s overdraft within a $15,000 limit, was unanimously supported by the mayor and the five remaining councilors. The bank overdraft was a little over $33,000 at the time.
(Of note is that 5 councilors remain because Galvez’s brother, Wil Galvez, resigned last year during a major upheaval at the council.)
The second and more controversial resolution, passed August 20, which had the support of all except the mayor, gives the town administration the power to sign checks, and does not require the mayor (or the one acting in his absence) to sign ALL checks, as has been the case. Any two signatories, not necessarily the mayor, would be able to sign on checks.
Amandala understands that Eugene Palacio, director of local government in the Ministry of Local Government, met with the parties on Monday night to try to diffuse the tensions between the warring parties at the Town Council. Lino told us that Palacio promised to facilitate a quick audit of the council’s finances.
A Government press release today says that the PG Town Council audit is imminent and will come next in line after the Belize City Council audit is brought up to date.
Of note is that similar allegations of wanton spending have been levied by a Belize City councilor, Mark King, against Belize City Mayor, Zenaida Moya. In this case, though, it is UDP against UDP, unlike the PG case of political crossfire between opposing parties. Like Galvez, the Belize City mayor dismisses the allegations against her as a political sham.
(Lino and Galvez are also common denominators in the TCC story. Lino is one of two persons who was assigned to replace one of the demoted vice principals, while Galvez, a board member of TCC, gave extensive media interviews last week about the reversal of voting by the TCC board, which saw a known UDP supporter rise to the post of principal.)