Six months after a mostly new El Paso City Council took office, the city’s top three appointed officials – the city manager, city attorney and chief internal auditor – are under review in closed-door meetings.
The City Council, which has the authority to hire and fire the top executives, took no action out of executive session May 12 or June 10 when their duties, evaluations and employment were discussed with outside attorneys. It’s unclear when the council will again take up these discussions, but the next council meeting will be June 24. The discussions could lead to various outcomes, including pay raises, contract extensions – or leadership changes and termination. Several city representatives said their goal is to improve and streamline the evaluation process.
The talks come a few months away from City Manager Dionne Mack’s first evaluation since being appointed last August and as City Attorney Karla Nieman is scheduled to have her annual performance evaluation this month. The City Council has also yet to develop an employment agreement or evaluation process for Chief Internal Auditor Edmundo Calderon since a City Charter amendment approved by voters May 2023 put the position under the purview of the elected body.
“These are the three employees that we have the authority to supervise. You know (before) it was hire, and at some point in time we inherited hire and fire, depending on the situation. But, this is probably one of the most important processes that we’re going to take on, this and the development of the budget – boy, that’s on our back,” city Rep. Lily Limón said.
Limón, along with city Reps. Alejandra Chávez, Deanna Maldonado-Rocha, Cynthia Boyar Trejo and Ivan Niño, and Mayor Renard Johnson, were sworn into office in January. The previous council appointed Mack in a 6-2 vote, with city Reps. Art Fierro and Joe Molinar voting against her appointment. Molinar was ousted in the November election, and Fierro’s term runs through January 2027.
City Rep. Josh Acevedo tried to postpone the hiring until after January, but the effort failed with a tie-breaking vote by former Mayor Oscar Leeser. The mayor can break a tie vote as it relates to the hiring and firing of the three executives.
City Manager Dionne Mack
Limón said she has been very pleased with Mack’s performance over the last six months that she has been working with her, and is not looking to make changes or add anything new to her contract at this time.
“One of the biggest things for me is that she’s really grounded. She’s very down to earth, and it’s easy to talk to her, she is reachable. So far, my relationship with her has been very good,” she said. “Of course, let’s hope this is not just a honeymoon, but it’s a long, lasting relationship.”
Fierro said the City Council has been looking for ways to improve the evaluation form and streamline it for the three executives. Fierro said Mack has been doing a great job in the role as city manager, though he initially wanted to hire Chief Financial Officer Robert Cortinas for the job because of his financial background.
“You can call her any time of the day – crack of dawn, morning or the evening and she will answer, or get back to you,” Fierro said.
He also said he was impressed with how she has developed her leadership team. Many leadership positions have been filled by current city employees.
“(We’re looking at) how do we make it a better tool, so the council could use it to help focus and accept the goals and help us move forward together, but then at the same time, how do we combine them (the evaluation forms), too, so that they’re more similar?” Fierro said.
Mack was hired as El Paso’s third city manager on Aug. 19, 2024, and started in the position in September. She replaced Tommy Gonzalez, who was fired in February 2023 after nine years on the job. The city manager’s role is key in implementing policies set out by the City Council as well as hiring top executive leaders and overseeing city operations, developing the city budget, ensuring policies are implemented and that city services are delivered effectively.
“I welcome a discussion regarding goals for the next review period,” Mack said in an emailed response to El Paso Matters. “I don’t expect any surprises. They are all approachable, and I have open communication with each of them.”
Mack’s starting annual base salary was $350,000. She has received two pay raises since being appointed city manager, bringing her new base pay to about $359,000, documents obtained by El Paso Matters through the Texas Public Information Act show. Both raises were part of across-the-board pay increases to all city employees.
Mack opted out of annual merit increases based on performance evaluations in her contract, unlike Gonzalez, who regularly received 5% merit increases as well as any pay raises given to other city employees.
Mack’s contract runs through March 2028 and can automatically be extended through March 2029 unless the City Council chooses to not renew or extend the contract.
Experts in local government say elected officials and the city managers they work with should collaborate on evaluations and communicate any possible concerns year-round.
“I would encourage the governing body, members of the governing body – elected officials – to regularly check in and communicate with their city manager about issues of concerns regarding (a city manager’s performance),” said Joe Turner, president of the American Association of Municipal Executives, an advocacy group for city and county managers.
Turner said he has seen elected officials bottle up frustrations and not communicate concerns with city managers before the annual performance evaluation, which can lead to negative outcomes.
“They need to have regular check-ins – candid check-ins – with this individual and communicate concerns so that the person has an opportunity to address them and make a good faith effort to address those issues,” Turner said.
He also said city managers and elected officials should develop a structured performance evaluation process that is mutually agreed upon by both sides that defines goals and objectives.
Mack said she has not gotten any information from the City Council about her August evaluation, but anticipates she will submit her self-evaluation and then get an evaluation with feedback.
Chávez said her goal with the evaluations is to ensure the City Council fosters a professional and collaborative environment.
“Evaluations provide an opportunity to reflect, give honest feedback and strengthen the working relationship between City Council and our appointed leadership,” Chávez said.
Auditor Edmundo Calderon
Calderon has served in the role since 2005 and has not been given an employment contract since the 2023 charter amendment. The change moved oversight of the auditor from the city manager to the chair of the Financial Oversight and Audit Committee and City Council.
The city’s chief internal auditor’s role is to review city programs, operations and financial expenditures to make sure employees are following policies and laws and regulations.
The FOAC is made up of the chief internal auditor, the city manager and four members of the City Council approved by the council. Acevedo is the current FOAC chair.
An employment contract was part of damages sought in a whistleblower lawsuit filed by Calderon in December 2023 that alleged retaliation by top city executives including Gonzalez, Nieman and former city Rep. Cassandra Hernandez following a fuel card audit of elected officials’ use of taxpayer-funded gas cards.
The lawsuit was settled in September 2024. He was seeking an employment contract and monetary damages of at least $250,000, but not over $1 million. The settlement included a pay increase of about $20,000. Calderon has since received an across-the-board minimum wage increase in February, bringing his new base pay to about $187,000.
In October, the City Council hired an outside auditing firm Weaver and Tidwell LLP for $128,000 to conduct a review of the Internal Audit Charter – the formal document which outlines the internal audit department’s responsibilities and authority that is drafted by the chief internal auditor and approved by FOAC.
Calderon declined to comment for this story.
On Tuesday, June 17, a FOAC meeting will be held to review the firm’s findings on the auditor’s office “current state, maturity, and needs assessment.” The item does not mention results of the review of the audit charter. The FOAC has been meeting monthly and last met June 5.
Calderon works as an at-will employee for the city, getting benefits other high-level city employees receive such as medical insurance, paid vacation and sick leave, a vehicle allowance and retirement benefits, among others. At-will employees can terminate their employment at any time while employers may also terminate the employment at any time without cause. Employees with contracts have terms under which the employment can be terminated or ended by either party.
At-will employees are also not covered by civil service rules that offer other protections to city employees.
“I think any employee in any situation deserves to have an evaluation by their supervisor on an annual basis,” city Rep. Chris Canales said. “I think it’s a fair thing for an employee to know what their supervisor thinks of them and their performance.”
City Attorney Karla Nieman
Nieman, who has worked with the city for about 11 years, was appointed interim city attorney in June 2018 before being hired in October 2018. Her employment evaluation is conducted every June.
Nieman’s base salary in 2018 was $250,000. Her last merit increase in June 2024 put her base pay at about $319,000. Nieman has also received two across-the-board increases, bringing her new base pay to about $327,000.
The city attorney is tasked with advising city officials on legal matters, drafting and reviewing ordinances, resolutions, contracts, and policies to ensure compliance with local, state, and federal laws while also representing the city in civil lawsuits, administrative hearings, and other legal proceedings.
Nieman’s employment contract has not been amended since it was first signed in December 2018, records show.
Nieman did not respond to El Paso Matters request for comment.
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