Durango, Colorado paid former El Paso City Manager Tommy Gonzalez thousands of dollars during his final months on the jo
Published: Sat, 08/12/23
Durango, Colorado paid former El Paso City Manager Tommy Gonzalez thousands of dollars during his final months on the job
KVIA
By Larry Monarrez
Published 6:18 PM
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- It was February 28th when El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser casted the tie-breaking vote to fire then-City Manager Tommy Gonzalez.
By March 13th, Gonzalez already had a $35,000 deal with the City of Durango, Colorado, as a business consultant.
ABC-7 was tipped off to the Durango purchase order, which lists four $8,750 entries for consultant services.
ABC-7 found Gonzalez on a City of Durango organizational chart. He has since been removed.
ABC-7 also found a list of services that Gonzalez would provide:
- Reviewing financial policies, procedures, and practices to determine improvements.
- Assessed financial resiliency and provide recommendations and guidance.
The entries are all dated March of 2023, so its unknown how Gonzalez balanced a full-time El Paso job and an out-of-town job for a month.
City Council had given Gonzalez a 120-day notice of termination in February. But, there was a flurry of contract negotiations beginning in 2022 that added extra benefits and a contract extension. Gonzalez eventually left in June with $900,000 paid for El Paso taxpayers, plus thousands of dollars from the City of Durango.
ABC-7 will continue sifting through public records to keep you informed as the City looks for its next city manager.