EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — One of El Paso’s highest-paid employees is getting a pay bump from a nearby city, thanks to connections with former El Paso City Manager Tommy Gonzalez.
Ellen Smyth, the City’s chief transit officer, signed a consulting contract with the City of Midland in April. She will earn $150 an hour on top of her existing $232,374 salary from the City of El Paso.
Smyth, who is tied for the sixth highest-paid employee within the City of El Paso, was hired in 2004. She signed the consulting agreement with Midland, the current employer of former City Manager Tommy Gonzalez, on April 29, 2024. The agreement states that payments to Smyth cannot exceed $30,000.
El Paso’s outside employment policy states employees can seek secondary employment if they get permission from their supervisor and file paperwork with the City’s Human Resources Department. City spokesperson Laura Cruz Acosta tells KTSM that the secondary employment rule does not apply to Smyth because the consulting contract with the City of Midland is not full time. Cruz Acosta also tells KTSM that Smyth’s direct supervisor, Interim City Manager Cary Westin, approved the consulting contract before Smyth signed with Midland.
As the City looks forward to naming a new city manager within the next month, Smyth is amongst the highest-ranking City employees who were not named finalists for the job. Deputy City Manager and CFO Robert Cortinas, Deputy City Manager Mario D’Agostino, Deputy City Manager Dionne Mack, and Community and Human Development Director Nicole Ferrini are all up for the position.
Smyth is not the only City employee with secondary employment or consulting contracts – she’s just the highest paid. Fire Batallion Chief Kris Menendez also serves as the fire chief for the City of Horizon, and El Paso Police officers are also authorized to have outside security jobs.
Read: Read More