Group questions Comite de Bien Estar expenditures

 SAN LUIS, Ariz. - Members of Residentes en Defensa del Pueblo (Residents in Defense of the People) are questioning expenses made by the Comite de Bien Estar Inc. administration.

  The members described the salary of Marco Antonio "Tony" Reyes, Comite CEO, as excessive compared with directors of similar organizations in the region. Comite de Bien Estar is a housing development organization that provides assistance for low- to moderate-income residents to obtain a home.

 At a news conference, Jorge Gallegos, spokesman for the group, disclosed that Reyes' salary was $306,853 in 2006 - "three times what is earned by directors of other organizations such as the food bank, Housing America, Catholic Community Services and Crossroads Mission."

  "Those directors have a salary of about $100,000. Reyes' salary is almost as much as President Bush's," said Gallegos.

 In a telephone interview, Reyes said that "first of all, (they) are confusing things. The amount they are speaking about is not only my salary, it is my salary together with the bonuses I have with the outcome of the projects we carry out each year."

 The residents group's intention, he said, is not only to affect the reputation of the Comite de Bien Estar but "to vent their animosity because nothing has turned out well for them.

  "They are not happy with the results of the last electoral process. They did not like my winning the (Yuma County) supervisor election and this, they are now bringing it up."

 Last week, the group released numbers from Comite de Bien Estar financial reports posted and retrieved from is Web site because, according to the spokesman, that information was denied to them at the organization's offices.

 Reyes explained that Comite is not required to give information to the public.

  "Legally it is our obligation to inform our members. Mr. Gallegos is not a member of the Comite. We are also obliged to inform the government, this information is public and therefore they had access to it. We are not hiding anything.

 "They're confusing things. We are a private nonprofit organization, we are not the city for them to come demanding information as they did," Reyes said.

 Among the accusations, the group described as excessive the overall spending by the Comite, which in 2006 was more than $1.5 million, with more than $29,000 in gasoline, $32,000 in food and more than $61,000 in travel.

  "The Comite de Bien Estar is for low-income people," said Gallegos. "Someone told us it's not our business, because it isn't our money, but let us remember that this is money from our taxes."

 He also pointed out that Sin Fronteras newspaper, owned by the Comite, in 2006 showed losses of $51,569. "(It was) being supported with members' resources, but also from our taxes, because Comite receives public funds," Gallegos said.

 Reyes replied that the group "does not acknowledge or does not indicate that the Comite has a student transportation system that causes such gasoline spending, and a series of programs that require those kinds of expenditures."

  He said that Sin Fronteras is "one of several projects the Comite has. Not all projects are a success from their first year. Other projects have had difficulties at the beginning, but then they have been a success."

 Among other issues, the group expressed that Reyes and several associates close to the administration were awarded larger lots than those awarded to the other members; that the city prioritizes work in areas owned by the Comite, and that lots are sold to developers who in turn charge more.

 Reyes denied each of the accusations and reiterated that they "arise from ignorance of how the Comite operates. There is nothing sinister in Comite de Bien Estar Inc. This group continues on with their zeal to criticize me personally and now they do so through the Comite."