Who will lead search for new El Paso city manager and how much will it cost?

The El Paso City Council is once again set to vote on hiring a firm to head up a national search to find a new, permanent city manager.

On Tuesday, City Council is expected to vote on a recommendation to hire Baker Tilly US, a Chicago-based advisory, tax and assurance firm, to conduct the search for an estimated $42,585.

The search was derailed in August when the City Council voted 5-3 to reject an earlier search firm recommendation in order to have more input on which firm is chosen. The firm under consideration during that meeting is the same one council members will vote on Tuesday.

The meeting agenda shows that the new contract represents an "85.15% increase due to additional scope of work added to the contract and price increases in the marketplace."

El Paso has been without a city manager since February 2023 when Mayor Oscar Leeser cast the tie-breaking vote to terminate former City Manager Tommy Gonzalez's contract. Interim City Manager Cary Westin was approved two weeks later and began his tenure at the end of June.

The city manager is El Paso's top government administration job, overseeing the budget, all city departments, executing directives from City Council and signing off on contracts, tax abatements and grant applications among other things.

Gonzalez, who received a roughly $1 million payout when he was terminated by City Council last year, was being paid more than $436,000 at the time of his contract was terminated without cause.

The ongoing search is reminiscent of the recent police chief search, which utilized national firm Strategic Government Resources to wind up with the interim chief taking the reins of the department after fielding 25 candidates across 11 states.

The police chief selection process drew criticism from some community members for a lack of transparency. The city limited local reporter access to the candidates while they were in the city for a meet-and-greet.

There is currently no timeline for when city manager candidates will be announced or a final selection made.

Electing mayor pro tempore

Along with moving the city manager search ahead, the City Council will also have to select a mayor pro tempore, who leads meetings in the absence of the mayor.

Former District 2 city Rep. Alexsandra Annello, who resigned from her seat to mount a bid for the Texas Legislature, previously served as mayor pro tempore. Her absence leaves the City Council without a default leader in the mayor's absence.

Annello will be replaced on Tuesday by newly elected city Rep. Josh Acevedo, who won a runoff election last weekend to serve out the last 11 months of Annello's term. Despite him stepping into Annello's seat, it's highly unlikely that Acevedo will be tapped for the position.

The more likely selection would be city Rep. Joe Molinar, who has served as alternate mayor pro tempore since January 2023. If he's promoted to the mayor pro tempore position, City Council will have to select an alternate to replace him.

Removing commercial traffic from Bridge of the Americas

The planned Bridge of the Americas expansion has many detractors who insist that any plan should include removing commercial truck traffic from the port of entry — the City Council will vote Tuesday on whether to add its voice to that chorus.

The item, recommended by El Paso city Rep. Chris Canales, calls for the city to send a letter to the General Services Administration calling for the removal of commercial traffic from the port as part of its modernization project.

"The focus of this action is on minimizing adverse effects on nearby residential areas while enhancing the bridge's functionality for regular users," a summary of the agenda item states. "This stance is based on community feedback expressing concerns during public scoping meetings about negative impacts on air quality, public health, and the character of nearby neighborhoods. The city aims to formalize this preference through this letter to ensure that community needs are central to the project's development."

If approved, the letter would put councilmembers in concert with El Paso County Commissioner David Stout, who has pushed for the removal of truck traffic from the land port since the modernization effort was announced.

El Paso County Commissioners Court backtracked on its earlier letter pushing for the removal of commercial traffic, leaving Stout as the lone voice of opposition on Commissioners Court.

Stout is joined by numerous community advocates who have insisted that their concerns are falling on deaf ears as the project moves forward with no substantive plan to remove truck traffic.

U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D- El Paso, a vocal supporter of the modernization plan, has warned that delaying the project could push the federal government to pull funding and allocate it to another community.

The modernization of the landmark port of entry is critical to the Borderland given the current facility is nearly obsolete.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: City manager search tops upcoming El Paso City Council meeting agenda