El Paso City Council advances search for city manager, police chief

The searches for a new city manager and police chief are one step closer to completion following a round of discussions by the El Paso City Council this week.

Currently, the El Paso Police Department is being led by Interim Police Chief Peter Pacillas following the unexpected death of longtime Chief Gregory Allen in January, while current City Manager Tommy Gonzalez's contract is set for termination in June following a council vote in late-February.

The process is already underway to find a new police chief, with Keller, Texas-based recruitment firm Strategic Government Resources (SGR) already on board to head up the process.

The City Council on March 28 approved a process to find a consultant to lead the city manager search. The city is expecting to hire a consultant by July, leaving Interim City Manager Cary Westin to lead the city after Gonzalez's departure until a new city manager is hired.

More: Mayor Oscar Leeser casts tie-breaking vote to terminate city manager's contract

El Paso City Council lays out wish list for city manager search

The council on March 28 approved moving forward with accepting proposals from independent executive search consultants. Proposals will be accepted between April 3 and April 21, with a consultant expected to be retained by July.

In its request for proposals, the city laid out a wide variety of requirements for a potential search firm, including at least five years of recruitment experience, as well as the scope of work, which will include narrowing the pool of candidates, meeting with city leaders and stakeholders, creating an advertising campaign and conducting background checks, reference checks and academic verifications.

Additionally, the request requires a guarantee that the consultant will continue to provide its services "until a City Manager is appointed or until the contract with the consultant is terminated by El Paso."

"In addition, should the new City Manager be terminated for cause or resign within eighteen (18) months, the consultant must conduct a replacement search at no charge," the RFP states.

More: Terminated without cause: Who is Tommy Gonzalez, El Paso's city manager

The council won't know the cost of the contract until it has decided which firm's proposal it will accept.

During the meeting, East-Central city Rep. Cassandra Hernandez stressed the importance of including city staff in the process, as well as faith-based organizations and neighborhood associations.

"I think that's very important given the high profile of this position," Hernandez said. "It's really important that we overeducate and include the public as much as we can."

West-Central city Rep. Alexsandra Annello focused on the need to ensure that council members are actively involved in the process, stating that previous councils have seen members skip key parts of the interview process and still weigh in on the selection of a candidate.

Additionally, Annello said the city should consider the diversity of any search firm that is selected to handle the vetting and selection process.

"I would like to see a search firm that is not just a pay-for-hire service," Annello said.

The council is seeking to replace Gonzalez, a Mexican-American, whose contract was terminated without cause.

Search underway for new El Paso police chief

While the search for a new police chief is in the hands of SGR, the firm has a long list of steps it will be taking before the city makes a final decision. A presentation during Monday's work session laid out the following steps:

• Development of recruitment plan and timeline (TBD)

• Review previous panels for the Chief of Police to ensure emulation of previous processes at minimum

• Preliminary input: Key community stakeholder engagement (1-2 months, bilingual)

• Marketing and advertising (30-day minimum)

• Comprehensive evaluation and vetting of applicants

• Meet and greet — Stakeholder engagement

• Final selection – City executive staff

While there is no definite timeline, city Strategic Communications Director Laura Cruz-Acosta said the city hopes for the council to select a chief later this year.

"It is a fluid timeline because this is such an important role," Cruz-Acosta said in an email, "so we hope to have a candidate list this summer and we anticipate council being able to select someone by this fall."

West Side city Rep. Brian Kennedy said the council has not been presented with a final cost estimate for the SGR contract but expects to be briefed on the matter in early April.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: City Council pushes search for city manager, police chief