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<br />-3- <br /> <br />The <br /> <br />Council <br /> <br />has <br /> <br />researched <br /> <br />the <br /> <br />role played by CTHEA in the <br /> <br />secondary student loan market, with particular concern for <br /> <br />San <br /> <br />Marcos <br /> <br />and <br /> <br />the <br /> <br />immediate <br /> <br />Central <br /> <br />Texas <br /> <br />area. The evidence clearly shows <br /> <br />that the secondary market in <br /> <br />Texas, <br /> <br />even without <br /> <br />CTHEA, <br /> <br />is large <br /> <br />and <br /> <br />well-funded. <br /> <br />Without <br /> <br />CTHEA, there are several hundred millions <br /> <br />of dollars presently <br /> <br />available to <br /> <br />purchase <br /> <br />student <br /> <br />loan <br /> <br />notes <br /> <br />in <br /> <br />Texas. <br /> <br />In <br /> <br />addition, <br /> <br />many <br /> <br />Central Texas <br /> <br />financial <br /> <br />institutions <br /> <br />do not do business <br /> <br />with CTHEA, including the single largest <br /> <br />maker <br /> <br />of <br /> <br />student loans located in San Marcos. <br />The CTHEA Board, in its efforts to resist the City <br />rather than cooperate, has spent over $137,000.00 in legal <br /> <br />Council <br /> <br />fee s , <br /> <br />during a <br /> <br />period <br /> <br />when <br /> <br />the <br /> <br />City <br /> <br />spent <br /> <br />less <br /> <br />than <br /> <br />$14,000.00. <br /> <br />In <br /> <br />addition, <br /> <br />the <br /> <br />CTHEA <br /> <br />Board <br /> <br />has <br /> <br />had <br /> <br />the <br /> <br />advice and services of its <br /> <br />Genera 1 <br /> <br />Counsel, <br /> <br />just as the City has had the advice and <br /> <br />services of <br /> <br />its City <br /> <br />Attorney. <br /> <br />While <br /> <br />some <br /> <br />of <br /> <br />CTHEA's attorney's <br /> <br />fees <br /> <br />may <br /> <br />have <br /> <br />been <br /> <br />spent in preparation for a bond issue, the amounts spent on <br /> <br />this dispute <br /> <br />with the <br /> <br />Ci ty <br /> <br />constitute <br /> <br />an <br /> <br />apparent <br /> <br />waste <br /> <br />of <br /> <br />resources by the Board. <br /> <br />The Executive <br /> <br />Director of CTHEA's servicing <br /> <br />agent, <br /> <br />the <br /> <br />Student <br /> <br />Financial <br /> <br />Aid <br /> <br />Service <br /> <br />Bureau, Inc., has lobbied extensively over the <br /> <br />past <br /> <br />few months with individuals and before groups, attacking the City <br /> <br />Council and City staff members for their efforts to determine the legal <br /> <br />status of any surplus CTHEA funds which exist presently or may exist in <br /> <br />the future. <br /> <br />The Executive Direetor functions as a staff member for the <br /> <br />Au thor i ty. <br /> <br />Some <br /> <br />members <br /> <br />of <br /> <br />the CTHEA Board have worked tirelessly <br /> <br />against <br /> <br />the desires of the City Council to seek a legal determination about the <br /> <br />Authority's surplus funds. <br /> <br />These members evidently are <br /> <br />not <br /> <br />satisfied <br />