HARRIS COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL’S DR. TINA PETERSON RESIGNS AMID CORRUPTION CLAIMS
- Michael Thervil
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
Written by Michael Thervil
[Tina Peterson Harris County Flood Control] With the subject of corruption being at the forefront of nearly every governmental institution on every level, it appears that Harris County is no exception. As of yesterday, during a Commissioners Court hearing, it was confirmed that Dr. Tina Peterson who is a graduate of University of Houston with a terminal degree in Environmental Engineering, resigned from her role as the Director of the Harris County Flood Control; a department that was created to aid in the either the prevention of or reduction in the risk associated with flooding that plague residents of Harris County after heavy rains and storms. According to sources, the reason why Dr. Tina Peterson decided to resign from her position was due to the fact that she was avoiding being fired from her position because of her failed leadership and policies.
At least 11 major projects which amounted to an estimated $320 million were supposed to go to the creation of new bayous, new equipment and tools for workers, and new detention basins which would have aided in alleviating the risk and destruction associated with flooding within Harris County. It should be noted that the $320 million dollars were allocated by the federal government and while under her leadership not all of the federal funds were able to be properly accounted for, which is estimated to be in billions in total. With the federal government making moves to reclaim the funds allied to Harris County Flood Control, Harris County Flood Control not only sought extensions on some of the projects but changed the type of projects that could be started in order to keep the remainder of the funds that could be accounted for by the federal government.
Sources indicated that the 11 major projects that failed to be completed under the leadership of Dr. Tina Peterson is a small number when compared to the 90 plus projects that were supposed to be executed under her command. Instead, it was revealed to us that funds that were supposed to be injected into those 90 plus total projects were diverted to what sources described as “pet projects”. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, who is mostly politically despised and detested by a significant number of detractors stated to the Press that:
"It's always difficult to make personnel changes, especially at the highest levels of county government. We're making a bet that a change in leadership will result in clearer communication with both Commissioners Court and the residents, but this is a necessary step for us to be able to get these projects back on track”.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, who has been determined by detractors to be unfit for the position of Harris County judge because of her extreme lack of experience and competence, seems to have played a vital role in the shortcomings that Harris County Flood Control is facing today. Speaking with sources, it was revealed that major deals and kickbacks were negotiated behind the scenes with and to contractors residing in Georgia who had insufficient knowledge of Harris County's bayou system to the tune of over $400,000 dollars to play a role in managing Harris County Flood Control.
It was also revealed to us that several remote jobs for Harris County Flood Control were given to others who do not reside in Texas. For many of County Judge Lina Hidalgo’s detractors, the awarding of contracts to aid in the management and operation of Harris County Flood Control was considered to be a “slap in the face” as they felt that it took money out of the pockets of Harris County contractors and out of the pockets of Harris country tax payers; both of which adversely impacts the socio-economics within Harris county.
OUR POSITION AT VEDA WORLD NEWS
The question that speculators are asking is: “Will the Harris County Flood Control be able to fulfill their obligations to retain federal funds?”. Our prediction is “no”. The reason for that is because the organization lacks the manpower needed to complete 90 plus projects in a cost-efficient manner and on time. The truth of the matter is when directly compared, the organizations manpower to the mileage ratio stands at 7.1 miles to each employee. Keep in mind that Harris County Flood Control executes operations on both land and water; so, the miles to employee ratio could be higher.
While Harris County employees do a great job at being proactive when it comes to preventative measures that ease the burden of flooding for Harris County residents, the issue with the organization stands not with them but with the upper echelon of the organization. With hurricane season in full effect and the likelihood of a hurricane hitting Harris County, it should be anticipated that further delays in fulfilling federal mandates to retain the governmental funds will be further pushed back in the near future.