This is your weekly update, which takes a quick look at the week ahead and some developments that El Paso Matters is following.
EPCC President Gets $25k Pay Raise: El Paso Community College President William Serrata received a four-year contract extension through 2034 and a 6% pay raise – $25,061 – from the college district’s Board of Trustees during his annual review on Jan. 27. The raise will bring his salary to a little more than $442,750.
Board chair Brian Haggerty said the trustees also gave Serrata three additional vacation days, $5,000 for his retirement fund and $5,000 as a retention bonus.
Haggerty said the trustees based their decision on Serrata’s service to the college’s students and employees as well as his “powerful impact” on the community. He praised the president for his role in bringing the state’s community college leaders together to support House Bill 8 during the 2023 legislative session. The bill changed the funding formula for community colleges to an outcomes-based method. As a result, EPCC received an additional $7.1 million from the state, a 22% increase above the previous year.
The vote was 6-0. Trustee Nina Piña did not attend the meeting.
Interim City Manager Does Not Want the Job: Cary Westin, who was appointed interim city manager in March after former City Manager Tommy Gonzalez was fired, has informed the mayor that he does not want the job on a permanent basis. The city has been without a permanent city manager since Gonzalez was fired last February. The search for a new city manager has not begun as the city has yet to hire a search firm. An agenda item on Tuesday to vote on hiring Baker Tilly US LLP, a public accounting and consulting firm headquartered in Chicago, to conduct the national search was postponed. This is the second time the council has taken no action on Baker Tilly. The council in August rejected a bid from the same firm because it wanted to interview bid finalists, which delayed the hiring process.
District Attorney, Sheriff Candidates Talk Mental Health: The El Paso chapter of the National Alliance for Mental Illness is partnering with El Paso Matters on a candidate forum focused on mental health issues in the criminal justice system. The forum starts at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the El Paso Community College Administrative Office, 9050 Viscount Blvd. The three Democratic district attorney candidates will debate from 6:10 to 7:20 p.m.; followed by the El Paso County sheriff candidates from 7:20 to 8:30 p.m. Information: NAMI El Paso.
New DEA Special Agent in Charge: Towanda R. Thorne-James, a former Philadelphia police officer, has been named as the new special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s El Paso Division, which serves New Mexico and West Texas. Thorne-James has been at the El Paso office since December. She began her law enforcement career in 1993 as a police officer with the Philadelphia Police Department. She joined the DEA in 1998. As the agent in charge of the El Paso Division, she is responsible for 50 counties in two states, covering more than 159,00 square miles.
Savannah, the 71-year-old elephant at the El Paso Zoo, was euthanized because of dwindling health. (Courtesy: El Paso Zoo)
El Paso Zoo Elephant Dies: Savannah, the 71-year-old Asian elephant at the El Paso Zoo, was euthanized earlier this week after she stopped responding to treatment for her arthritis, zoo officials said in a news release. Savannah was brought to the U.S. from India at 2 years old. She lived at the Dallas Zoo from 1954 to 1975 but was moved to the Baton Rouge Zoo in 1975. From there, she was transferred to a breeding facility. Savannah came to the El Paso Zoo in 1997.
County Clerk Opens Northwest Office: The El Paso County Clerk’s Office is opening its fourth branch on Wednesday. County Clerk Delia Briones said the branch will be the Northwest County Annex, 435 Vinton Road, in Anthony, Texas. The office will be an extension of the vitals division, which provides services for birth, death and marriage records. The office will be open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday. The main office is at the Enrique Moreno County Courthouse, 500 E. San Antonio Ave., Ste. 105, in Downtown, and two other annexes are in Ysleta, 9521 Socorro Road, and Northeast, 4641 Cohen Ave. Information: epcounty.com/clerk or (915) 546-2071.
El Paso Chamber CEO Selected to Texas Lyceum: El Paso Chamber President and CEO Andrea Hutchins has been accepted into the Texas Lyceum, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to cultivating the next generation of Texas leaders. She will be a part of the Class of 2024. The Texas Lyceum, founded in 1980, is a leadership organization that selects its members through a rigorous application process based on civic engagement and leadership. Information: texaslyceum.org/about.
The post The Week Ahead: EPCC president gets $25,000 raise appeared first on El Paso Matters.
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