Wilson admits delaying the ballpark bonds was her decision; not for political purposes

UPDATE 04/12/16: The city chose to refinance the Downtown ballpark’s bonds at a lower interest rate, potentially saving taxpayers as much as $6.5 million.

But that barely puts a dent in how much was lost by delaying the sale of the ballpark bonds in 2013, under former city manager Joyce Wilson’s watch. ABC-7 reported that a decision to delay those bonds cost taxpayers $27 million.

In a recent letter from Wilson, she said the decision was her’s.

“There was no council member who asked me to delay placing the bond resolution on the agenda….it was my request,” Wilson writes.

She explains that she and her financial team needed more time to brief council on the matter, and it was a long standing practice to not post anything so significant immediately before an election.

“My decision to delay the resolution until after the election was to protect the project, not for political purposes,” Wilson writes.

Wilson goes on to say she sacrificed her career for the ballpark, baring the brunt of the political fallout. Fortunately, she writes, the city can refinance the bonds in their favor.

PREVIOUS STORY 02/24/16: Former City Manager Joyce Wilson refused to cooperate with a City investigation into the ballpark financing, declining to identify city representatives who asked her to delay the issuance of the ballpark bonds.

According to the investigation report, filed by ethics attorney Ross Fischer, Wilson was interviewed on February 3, 2016 and refused to identify the “several council members” who had expressed concern in 2013 with the timing of the bond issuance. “Ms. Wilson expressed her opinion that nobody ‘did anything wrong’ with respect to delaying the bond issuance. However, when pressed to disclose those council members referred to in her email, she declined,” wrote ethics attorney Ross Fischer who conducted the investigation.

The referenced email was provided by Wilson in 2013 for a report by the City’s bond counsel, Paul Braden, that chronicled the delay of the ballpark bond issuance.

The Braden report, which was ordered by Mayor Oscar Leeser soon after taking office, shows the city landed an unfavorable financing deal on the ballpark. The report points out Wilson delayed the issuance of the bonds until after the May 2013 election between Leeser and ballpark supporter and former city Rep. Steve Ortega. The city lost a projected $22 million on the ballpark financing because of the bad timing to the issuance. Wilson and her supporters have said the issue is complex and it’s impossible to prove the loss of funds are a direct effect of Wilson’s decision to delay, saying the ballpark contractor’s request for more funds also delayed the issuance.

In his report, Fischer said Wilson told him she would speak to her attorney “before deciding whether to name the individuals who directed the delay of the bond issuance.” Three days after the interview, Wilson’s attorney called Fischer saying she was advising Wilson “not to cooperate with this investigation any further,” according to the report. Fischer then asked Wilson, through her attorney, to provide a signed, written statement identifying the council members at whose direction she was acting. Wilson declined to provide such statement, according to Fischer.

When the council approved the issuance of the bond in 2013, it was acting as the Downtown Development Corporation, a local government corporation and instrument created to expedite the building of the ballpark. As the executive director of the Downtown Development Corporation, Wilson was obligated to base decisions that would solely benefit the City and “exercise unbiased and honest business judgment.” According to the report, Wilson may have harmed taxpayers when she was influenced by political considerations. “Although quantifying harm to taxpayers may prove challenging, a resident could still assert that, by delaying the bond issuance for political reasons, the culpable officers or directors breached their fiduciary duty to the citizens of El Paso,” the report states.

Fischer points out it’d be unprecedented to seek liabilities of a former executive director of a municipal corporation though he also writes Wilson does not appear to have the protection of government immunity because she delayed the sale of the bonds acting as a member of the corporation, not as city manager.

The report states the city can subpoena Wilson to potentially sue her or ask the Attorney General to investigate her. Wilson has refused to answer ABC-7’s questions on the ballpark financing. Former Mayor John Cook and former Mayor Pro Tempore Ann Lilly have denied authorizing Wilson to delay the bond issuance, contradicting Wilson’s claims in the Braden report. The El Paso City Council is expected to meet on Monday at 9am to discuss Fischer’s recommendations and possibly take action against Wilson.

“There are some recommendations and some legal action that Mr. Fischer has recommended, it’s an option for the council to take. Once we reconvene, we have to make that decision,” said Mayor Oscar Leeser. He said the council had “rallied together” to do the right thing and order the investigation and praised their decision to publicly release Fischer’s report.