This is your weekly update, which takes a quick look at the week ahead and some developments that El Paso Matters is following.
City Manager Search on Pause: The El Paso City Council on Tuesday deleted an agenda item that asked the city’s Human Resources Department to conduct the city manager search and open it only to applicants living within the city limits. It was not clear when the council will again discuss the search process, or if it would be a local or national search. The council has twice passed on hiring Baker Tilly US LLP, a public accounting and consulting firm headquartered in Chicago, to conduct the search. The city has been without a permanent city manager since the council fired Tommy Gonzalez in February 2023. Cary Westin has been serving as interim, but has told the mayor that he does not want the job permanently.
PSB Member Appointed: The El Paso City Council this week filled a vacancy on the Public Service Board, which governs El Paso Water, by appointing Anna Gitter, an El Paso-based assistant professor of environmental health at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health. Gitter is an expert in water quality and resource management who moved to El Paso in 2022. The PSB, a seven-member board that includes the mayor, meets monthly and approves El Paso Water’s annual budget and rates, and oversees contracts and construction projects. It also approves land sales for El Paso Water – which owns tens of thousands of acres of land in El Paso, New Mexico and east to Dell City, Texas – that help fund water and sewage projects.
Council members selected Gitter over two other finalists: Keri Moe, associate vice president of communications at El Paso Community College, and Abigail Tarango, executive director of the University Medical Center Foundation of El Paso. Leaving the Public Service Board is Kristina Mena, who is the dean of the UTHealth Houston School of Public Health’s El Paso campus. PSB members serve staggered four-year terms, with a limit of two consecutive terms.
City Seeks Volunteers for Planning Group: The city of El Paso is looking for residents interested in serving on two new groups to help envision the city’s future when it comes to urban planning. Envision El Paso, an update to the city’s Comprehensive Plan, guides how communities prioritize things like land use, infrastructure and quality of life projects keeping in mind equity, travel mode, housing affordability and fiscally responsible policies. The Envision Working Group will work with the city’s planning team and its consultant to provide feedback regarding the Comprehensive Plan update, while the Envision Ambassador Program will support community outreach and engagement activities related to the plan. Those in the Ambassador Program will receive a stipend, although both groups require specific time commitments. The deadline to apply for either is March 1. Click here for more information on the programs, qualifications and how to apply.
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