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County judge criticizes city for omitting county at Lomas del Sur ribbon-cutting; city officials apologize and promise improved coordination
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Summary
During communications at the Sept. 17 Laredo MPO meeting, the county judge said Webb County officials were sidelined during the Lomas del Sur ribbon-cutting and called for better coordination. City representatives apologized and said steps will be taken to include county partners in future events.
The County Judge (name not specified in the record) criticized City of Laredo publicity and event planning on Sept. 17, saying Webb County officials were excluded from a recent Lomas del Sur ribbon-cutting and that media posts overstated credit for the project.
"It was very disappointing to me to see the Facebook of the city of Laredo. Very disgusted by the Laredo Morning Times putting Henry Cuellar and acting like he's the one that brought the monies," the County Judge said, adding that county officials who had been part of planning and who moved motions in MPO meetings were not acknowledged in city materials.
The judge urged that future ribbon-cuttings and public events explicitly include all governmental partners and that credits reflect who brought project funding. He said the Lomas del Sur project had been discussed and advanced through MPO processes and that Webb County had played a role in moving the project forward.
A commissioner who spoke in support of the judge reiterated that multiple entities had collaborated on planning and funding and that scheduling changes to the ribbon-cutting contributed to absences by some officials. "When you move it 3 or 4 different times… I spoke to Senator Zaffirini about this because she was supposed to be there too," the commissioner said.
City representatives responded to the remarks and offered an apology. A city representative stated, "If we didn't communicate ourselves to the county, it's something we should do… We do apologize, commissioners, judge. Thank you. And, hopefully, it doesn't happen again." Another city official said steps had been taken to avoid a repeat and reaffirmed a commitment to coordination on future events.
Why it matters: The exchange highlights intergovernmental coordination and public messaging concerns between the City of Laredo and Webb County on a high-profile local construction project. Proper attribution in publicity matters to elected officials and can affect political and interagency relationships.
What’s next: County and city officials said they will work to improve coordination and communications so both entities are included in future event planning and public materials.
