El Paso city manager's contract amendment caps salary, directs excess funds to streets

by Estefania Seyffert (KFOX14) 

A petition is circulating to remove the city manager position during the 2023 Charter Amendment.
 

KFOX14 Investigates has obtained the amendment that was made to El Paso City Manager Tommy Gonzalez's contract following a vote from the El Paso city council to cap his salary.

The vote came after the city council released the performance evaluations for both City Manager Tommy Gonzalez and City Attorney Karla Nieman in June.

Gonzalez's and Nieman’s evaluations exceeded standards for the evaluation year encompassing June 2021 to June 2022, triggering a raise for both.

On June 6, the council voted to extend the city manager’s previous contract for five years, until 2029.

The amendment, which went into effect in October, still makes Gonzalez eligible for a 5-percent raise if the council gives him an “exceeds standards” rating.

Gonzalez's salary cap is $450,000 with any increases above that amount going towards the City of El Paso's streets department for street improvements.

The city will have to continue conducting an annual market-based review of Gonzalez's base salary and compare it to the base salary of city managers in Arlington, Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, and Tucson.

The amendment can be read in its entirety below:

City Manager 2nd Amendment Employment Agreement 10-07-2022 by Estefania on Scribd