Weslaco police chief, four others let go

WESLACO — The interim city manager made drastic cuts to the city staff Thursday, firing the police chief, the public works director and three other people. He also cut salaries and put a freeze on hiring.

Francisco Castellanos, who has been in the city manager's chair for a week, said the moves would save the financially troubled city $500,000 over the next year.

Mayor Buddy De La Rosa and city commissioners from both political camps said Castellanos did not inform them of the moves before they were made.

"They were all folks who were around and in support of the top staff or were top staff themselves," Castellanos said. In addition to police chief J.D. Martinez and public works director David Salinas, Castellanos laid off assistant public works director Oscar Garcia, director of human resources Arnold Rodriguez and Anne Mata, the city manager's secretary.

Fire Chief Art Avila will run the Police Department until the City Commission decides to hire a permanent police chief.
"That's where we got the biggest savings," he said.

Castellanos warned that the municipality is also discussing the possibility of utility and tax rate increases to help pull the city from its financial rut.

An audit released last month urged city leadership to review all its capital projects and spending to determine if proper protocol is being followed.

It's the third audit in a row that has revealed questionable spending procedures in the city.

It also notes that Weslaco's fund balance, a rainy-day fund reserved for unanticipated expenses, has been completely wiped out.
Meanwhile, the city's bond rating was recently downgraded and the city no longer has the option of refinancing its long-term debt, Castellanos said in a statement.

"Unless immediate corrective action is taken, the city's condition will deteriorate from serious to critical by the end of the fiscal year," he said in a statement sent to the media and elected city officials Thursday.

He added during an interview: "I felt like I needed to send a strong message to the community that we are very serious about getting a handle on this."

Castellanos took the helm of the city after his predecessor, Anthony Covacevich, resigned his post just prior to the audit's release, when it appeared the City Commission had the votes to fire him.

When Castellanos was hired, the commission tasked him with conducting a review of all city departments to determine how efficiently they operate.

"It is my hope and belief that these actions will be the first steps to putting the city on a path to fiscal and managerial solvency," he said in a statement.

Castellanos has implemented a hiring freeze for civilian employees and ended all non-essential overtime, he said.

He has also ordered a 5 percent pay cut for all civilian, salaried employees, which will affect about 30 people.

Castellanos was a self-employed consultant in San Antonio before taking the interim city manager job. He is expected to lead the city for three months and make almost $35,000 during that time, according to Mayor De La Rosa.

Castellanos justified the moves by saying that Weslaco's personnel costs make up about 78 percent of the budget, when those costs should be in the low 60s for a city its size.

The municipality has also hired an engineering firm to asses its $21 million in capital improvement bond projects. The audit questioned some of the spending on some bond projects.

De La Rosa praised Castellanos for showing "tremendous leadership" by quickly addressing the city's financial plight.

The interim city manager's personnel moves could help delay any tax increases, which would be a last resort, the mayor said.

He admitted that the actions were drastic but noted: "Drastic times call for drastic measures."

Castellanos said it will be up to the City Commission to decide when a permanent police chief will be hired, but he would like to keep the other positions vacant for as long as possible to maximize savings.

He emphasized that the City Commission played no role in the layoff decisions and said the moves weren't political.

"It's not appropriate" for commissioners to be involved in layoff decisions, he said. "(Commissioners) were totally out of the loop. That's the way it's got to be."

This marks the second time in Castellanos' career that he has fired Martinez, the just sacked police chief.

Castellanos served as Weslaco's city manager from 1997 to 2003. He named Martinez police chief in 1998 but fired him shortly before Castellanos left office. Once Castellanos was gone, the city hired Martinez back.

Castellanos wouldn't discuss why he fired Martinez the first time, though other city officials said the reason was "insubordination."
The first firing was "not germane to the current situation," Castellanos said, and the financial struggles were the "sole reason" for Martinez's latest termination.

Those who follow Weslaco politics long suspected Martinez's job was in jeopardy if De La Rosa's slate took control of the commission, which it did after last month's elections.

A severance package has not yet been negotiated with Martinez, who did not return phone calls to his cell phone Thursday.

Though Castellanos said the personnel moves were designed to save the city money, he conceded they were also done because he wants to build his own team as he leads the city.

"I'd like to get people around me that I know, and I have the prerogative to get my team around me," he said.

The City Commission expects to appoint a permanent city manager later this year.