City of Laredo Officials Continue to Advocate for Federal Resources
Written by admin, Sep 16, 2010, 0 Comments
Courtesy Xochitl Mora,
Mayor, council members, city administrators in Washington, D.C.
(Laredo, TX – Sept 15, 2010) City of Laredo officials are in Washington, D.C. today, continuing to advocate for federal funding necessary to augment local resources on a variety of fronts. A focus point for the Laredo delegation will be regarding the U.S. Justice Department’s COPS program funding. The Community Oriented Policing Services philosophy supports proactive and crime deterrent methods of policing and having officers assigned to regular beats.
Most recently, the funding has helped the Laredo Police Department hire more uniformed personnel to be on the streets. Since 1996, approximately 150 police officers have been hired through this program. The City of Laredo has not received funding for this program for the last two years and officials are pressing White House representatives, insisting that the crime abatement philosophy and funding mechanism have been successful for Laredo.
“In these critical times, when local budget dollars are not at their height and our community needs the utmost in public safety fortification, as much now as in the future, it is imperative for the City of Laredo to be in front of our federal officials, advocating for these funds,” stated Mayor Raul G. Salinas. “My responsibility as the chief elected official of this great community is to be in Washington, D.C., making sure that we reap these most deserved federal dollars for the people of Laredo.”
The Laredo Delegation in Washington, D.C. consists of Mayor Salinas; City Manager Carlos Villarreal; Deputy City Manager Cynthia Collazo; Council Member Cynthia Liendo Espinoza, District VIII; and Council Member Juan Narvaez, District IV. They have a series of meetings with White House officials today and tomorrow. The group returns to Laredo on Friday, September 17, 2010. While Mayor Salinas is in the nation’s capital, he will be staying with family in an effort to reduce his travel costs.
Recognizing that there is a major hometown public event tonight, Mayor Salinas also wanted to express his sentiments to the Mexican Consulate’s office in Laredo:
“I commend the Mexican Consulate General and the Instituto Cultural for what will be a tremendous event tonight. I know that my good friend, Consulate General Miguel Angel Isidro, has been working tirelessly to again make it a memorable celebration, and I regret that I will not be able to attend, but I will be ‘gritando’ in spirit from Washington, D.C.,” added Mayor Salinas.
The City of Laredo annually advocates for state and federal resources and plans strategic trips to ensure that tax dollars contributed by Laredoans, return to them in one form or another.
