City of Odessa getting close in search for new city manager

By Kim Smith

Odessa American

The Odessa City Council will be meeting Tuesday to whittle down its list of new city manager candidates and to schedule interviews.

The city council voted 5-2 on Dec. 13 to terminate City Manager Michael Marrero without explanation and Billing and Collections Director Agapito Bernal was named interim city manager. Within hours Mayor Javier Joven hired T2 Professional Consulting for $338,000 to aid in the search for Marrero’s replacement and to offer the city other consulting services.

During a specially scheduled meeting at 3 p.m. Tuesday, T2 will provide the council summaries on the top candidates and discuss their qualifications in executive session before coming out of executive session to set interview dates for the finalists.

The exact number of candidates is unknown. A Texas Public of Information Act request asking for that number has not yet been filled.

The council is also scheduled to discuss and consider terminating T2’s contract.

In earlier discussions, officials have said they hope to have a new city manager hired by mid-July, early August after which they’ll start the process to fill the positions left vacant when Assistant City Manager Cindy Muncy resigned a week after Marrero was fired and when Assistant City Manager Aaron Smith was fired March 1.

Smith has since filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the city alleging he was fired because he asked the Texas Attorney General’s Office, Texas Rangers and Ector County District Attorney’s Office to investigate Joven and the council. He believes they violated the open meetings act when they fired Marrero and City Attorney Natasha Brooks. He also believes Joven illegally hired T2.

Both Smith, who started his job two weeks before Marrero was fired, and City council member Steve Thompson think Joven’s decision to hire T2 was a clear violation of the city’s charter.

Under Article 1-4 of the City Charter, “all ordinances, resolutions and contract documents shall, before presentation to the council, have been reviewed as to form and legality by the city attorney or the city attorney’s authorized representative, and shall have been examined and reviewed for administration by the city manager or the city manager’s authorized representative.”

In addition, under City Charter, Section 30, city council approval of contracts must occur under certain circumstances, one being “contracts requiring the appropriation of funds.”

Bernal did not sign the contract and then-Interim City Attorney Dan Jones initialed it on Dec. 16, two days after T2 received a $50,000 initial payment.

Jones has since been named city attorney.

In March, the city council agreed the new city manager must have a “conferred degree from an accredited institution of higher education at the level of a bachelor’s degree or higher in the fields of study of public administration, business administration, management or a related field. Three or more years of professional experience as a city manager, assistant city manager, department head (or similar private-sector related leadership role) in an organization similar to the City of Odessa.”

According to Bernal’s job application, he has an unspecified associates degree from Midland College. He started as a Midland animal control officer in October 1994 before becoming the assistant director in July 1996. He left that position in March 2000. He became the director of animal control for the City of Mansfield in April 2001 before accepting the job as billing and collection manager with the City of Odessa in April 2006.

On March 15, the Odessa American asked for documents showing any additional academic achievements by Bernal since his hire date, including degrees. The OA was provided certificates showing Bernal had taken routine human resource courses on such things as preventing workplace harassment, sexual harassment and violence in the workplace.