The entire Odessa City Council met with representatives of T2 Professional Consulting for the first time Tuesday night and agreed to put together a six-member panel that will determine exactly what the city is looking for in its next city manager.
Mayor Javier Joven hired T2 for $338,000 Dec. 14, the day after the council voted 5-2 to fire City Manager Michael Marrero and City Attorney Natasha Brooks without explanation.
T2 Managing member Mike Wilson introduced the council to Hank Seitz, who he said will help the panel conduct a comprehensive assessment of city manager candidates.
Seitz “is one of 100 people in the world that can do this type of diagnostic assessment” and who has a lot of initials behind his name, Wilson said.
“Most people call me Dr. Hank, and like they said, a lot of initials, but basically I’m a mental scientist. I’m a behavioral psychologist, and I am a certified analyst in a lot of different areas of the human being,” Seitz said. “We have a time-proven process that we have used worldwide with organizations on a federal, state, city and local basis as well. We literally select candidates that are the most qualified candidates in a way that no one else can.”
Instead of relying entirely upon resumes and interviews, which are unreliable, Seitz said he helps organizations spot people who have the necessary talents to perform the job and are motivated to do so. By doing so, employers can expect to see a 30% increase in productivity and a 50% increase in job retention, he said.
Seitz asked the council to put together a panel of “subject matter experts” he will work with via Zoom for 60-90 minutes to help them determine the key talents, motivators and behaviors for the city manager position.
They’ll go through an assessment process and those assessments will be electronically averaged to come up with a job match, Seitz said. Then, before meeting any candidates they’ll then run a “tri-metrics” on the candidates that qualify best based on their resumes.
“I can take a look at that 25-page report and on the first page, I can tell you who’s the most qualified candidate for that position without ever meeting them, interviewing them. I don’t even need to send their resume,” Seitz said.
Normally it takes about six months to get to know an employee, but this process speeds up that process, he said.
“You’ll be able to understand this individual right away, how to communicate with this person, how not to communicate with this person, how to manage this person, and how to motivate him. You will literally have three easy-to-read pages to where you’ll understand who you’re dealing with right away,” Seitz said.
The panel should be comprised of two city council members, two department heads and two citizens, Seitz said.
Joven said he wanted Swanner on the panel to get the “female perspective” and the council agreed Odessa Police Chief Mike Gerke will be on it as well. They intend to discuss the rest of the panel members during a special meeting next week.
Wilson said he expects the new city manager will be named in mid-July, early August.
“Dr. Hank”
Seitz, who lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, describes himself in various ways on LinkedIn, Amazon and his own website.
On his LinkedIn page he says he’s a success and happiness coach “channeling answers and solutions for you” who spent 14 years as the general manager of Proctor & Gamble, leaving in 1995.
While he told the council he’s a behavioral psychologist, his LinkedIn account states he has a doctor of philosophy degree and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
On his own website, he said he has a bachelor’s degree in business, master’s degree in psychology and a PhD in mental science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
His Amazon bio says he has a degree in business from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, is a behavioral and talent certified analyst and has a PhD in mental science.
John Lucas, assistant vice chancellor of communications at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, could not immediately determine if Seitz was a UW-Madison graduate. However, he did say UW-Madison does not offer a degree in “mental science.”
The Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council has no record of a license being issued to a Hank or Henry Seitz. The council provides licenses to psychologists, marriage and family therapists, professional counselors and social workers. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, which provides licenses to behavior analysts, also does not show a license for a Hank or Henry Seitz.
Seitz has written at least 14 books with titles such as “Your Royal Path to Riches,” “Think, Feel and Grow Rich,” “The Happiest Man in the World,” “Easy Money Easy Life,” “Health Wealth & Success,” “Walk with God,” “Conscious Mind Treatment,” “13 Easy Steps to More Money” and “Your GPS to Success.”
Another T2 representative, Mica Lunt spoke briefly at the meeting.
According to inForney.com, an online news outlet, Lunt was fired from his job as the Forney Police Chief in March 2021 after serving 18 months. Prior to that, he was a law enforcement officer in College Station and Plano.
inForney.com reported Lunt was fired just over a month after he filed a grievance against City Manager Tony Carson alleging a pattern of improper and hostile working conditions. The Forney Police Officers Association, Forney Professional Firefighters Association and the firefighters association from the Illinois town where Carson used to work corroborated Lunt’s allegations.
According to Lunt’s LinkedIn account, he founded Lunt Consulting in January 2011. His company provides: “executive search and assessments/promotional processes; project management; expert testimony (impairment/intoxication, police procedure); corruption, misconduct, and malfeasance investigations; supervision, management, and leadership training; strategic planning; recruiting and retention; emergency management and planning.”
Interim City Manager Agapito Bernal said after the meeting that once a new city manager is hired, the city and T2 will turn their sights to naming a new city attorney and analyzing all of the other city positions. In the past, Joven has said the city needs to determine what positions are needed and if the appropriate people are filling them.
Water
In other matters, the city council heard a presentation from Aqua Texas, which along with its parent company, Essential Utilities, purchases water treatment and sewer plants from municipalities.
After the presentation, the council stressed no decisions have been made, but they would like Aqua Texas to bring in a third party consultant to determine the worth of the city’s wastewater system.
Eventually, if the city becomes interested in selling the wastewater plant, Aqua Texas would negotiate an agreement that would include an estimate of how much it would cost to improve it and determine a potential purchase price. Aqua Texas would also determine a potential 10-year rate plan.
Speaking on behalf of Aqua Texas and Essential, Troy Hill and John Andrews said Texas laws require public utility companies to offer fair market value for municipalities’ assets and is prohibited from setting water rates; those rates must continue to be set by the cities themselves, the men said. Every deal must also be approved by the Public Utility Commission and cities are always given a buyback option.
The going rate right now is $5,000-$6,000 per water connection, Hill said.
By selling their water or sewer plants, cities no longer need to worry about operating costs, capital needs or compliance issues, the men said.
Such purchases give cities the ability to meet future development needs and pay off debts while also getting massive upgrades, they said.
Hill also cited Flint, Michigan, Jackson, Mississippi and Houston as proof government entities don’t necessarily know best when it comes to water.
Essential Utilities provides water to 3 million people in 10 states, including some living in 53 counties in Texas. They own 199 wastewater plants and more than 20 water plants.
Joven informed the rest of the council Hill reached out to him following the waterline break at 42nd and San Jacinto streets back in June. He didn’t bring it up then because of the massive outcry that happened when rumors began to fly about the county possibly selling the Ector County Coliseum.
The mayor said rates are going to go up regardless of whether the city or a public utility company owns the wastewater plant simply because of the improvements that are needed. He wants to explore the city’s options because he is worried about the difficulties in finding and keeping staff, he said.
Joven stressed he’s only interested in seeing what the city’s options are. He’s also said he’s only interested in getting figures about the wastewater plant, not the water treatment plant. Back in 2021, the council voted 4-3 to issue certificates of obligation to pay for a $95 million rehab project at that plant.
“Is the council willing to kick the tires? There’s no commitment. I don’t want anyone walking out of this chamber thinking we’re selling the water system, we’re selling the wastewater system,” Joven said.
Councilmember Chris Hanie said “we have lots and lots of water here,” but no one is touching it because they are afraid of contaminates. He wants to know if Aqua Texas can work with oilfield companies to use produced water, the water that comes out of the ground along with oil and gas.
Andrews said smarter people than he would have to answer that question.
Councilmember Steve Thompson said he thought the council owed it to residents to explore the option.
The council can expect to hear back from Aqua Texas within 60 days, Hill said.
