Investigation: Gonzalez acted appropriately

City Manager Tommy Gonzalez did not violate state law or his authority when he green-lighted the search for a new financial adviser without a vote from council, according to a report by an independent investigator.

“Neither the charter nor any of the resolutions addressing the authority of the City Manager limit his or her ability to initiate an RFQ… nothing requires Council approval to start the Financial Adviser RFQ (Request for Qualifications) process,” the final report by investigator Ross Fischer states.

Fischer, an ethics attorney, was hired by the city to review whether Gonzalez acted appropriately when he authorized the search for a new financial adviser in 2014 at the public suggestion of City Rep. Larry Romero but without a council vote. Romero resigned earlier this month.

Though he didn’t violate the law, Gonzalez may have initially strayed from the city’s procurement policy when he asked the City’s Chief Financial Officer Mark Sutter to allow three weeks for interested firms to respond to the RFQ. City policy dictates firms should have a minimum of four weeks to submit their proposals. However, the search was ultimately changed to allow for four weeks. Fischer interviewed the City’s Purchasing Director, Bruce Collins, who said a shortened response time sends a message that the city has already decided which company it wants or that the city “doesn’t understand the complexity of the services it is seeking.” Gonzalez disputes he directed Sutter to shorten the search period and claims he was merely “sharing his thoughts,” the report states.

The investigation also found no evidence that Gonzales or Romero would benefit financially had the City awarded the contract to firm Estrada Hinojosa. Romero has come under scrutiny for suggesting the selection of Estrada Hinojosa without disclosing he had worked with the company’s owner years before. Soon after being elected, Romero arranged a meeting between former City Manager Joyce Wilson and Estrada Hinojosa owner Noe Hinojosa. Wilson did not take any action after the meeting.

Both Hinojosa and Romero admit to speaking soon after Romero’s election in 2013 about Romero’s frustration with the City’s current financial adviser First Southwest. But in an interview with Fischer, Hinojosa said he did not have any contact with any city officials about the timing or contents leading up to the RFQ, according to the report. Hinojosa did admit to calling Romero in July 2015 to inquire about the status of the search, the investigation revealed. That contact raises questions about whether Hinojosa and Romero violated the city’s “cone of silence” policy which prohibits individuals competing for a city contract to communicate with city representatives during the RFQ process.

The report also states an audit produced no evidence of phone calls from Gonzalez’s city cell phone and Hinojosa from June 2014, months before the RFQ was issued and November 2015, about a month after the process was stopped. The audit also revealed no text messages between the two from June to November of last year. City staff was unable to retrieve texts before that date. Fischer writes the council may consider retrieving old text messages from Gonzalez’s city phone and trying to check his personal cell phone.

According to Gonzalez’s personal financial statements, he has “no common business interests, gifts or loans with either Larry Romero or any person affiliated with Estrada Hinojosa.” As a municipal officer and a member of the State Risk Management Board, Gonzalez is required to file the statements with the Texas Ethics Commission.

Gonzalez in 2014 did not report any additional occupational income other than his salary as City Manager but did report three honorarium payments Fischer raises questions about.

Under Texas law, public servants are only allowed to accept honorariums for food, lodging, and transportation if they attend conferences or speaking events.

Gonzalez filed three honorariums from the Quality Texas Foundation, the State office of Risk Management and the CIA but did not specify the amounts and if the money was used for meals, lodging or transportation. “Any deficiency in his filing could result in enforcement not only in El Paso but could also be enforced by either the Texas Ethics Commission, the Travis County District Attorney, or both,” the report states.

Fischer recommends the council ask Gonzalez to provide documentation of any outside pay he’s received, including receipts, reimbursements, honoraria and tax forms. The documentation could help the council determine if Gonzalez’s financial disclosures are accurate and whether his outside consulting services conflict with his duties as City Manager.

The City Council is scheduled to discuss Fischer’s recommendations and potentially take action on Monday morning. The meeting begins at 9 a.m.

After discussing Fischer’s findings for more than four hours in executive session on Wednesday, Mayor Oscar Leeser said he was confident the City Council would do the right thing. He was also pleased the council voted to waive attorney client privilege and release the report to the public. “We need to focus on being great leaders and I know we will do that. Great leaders move forward and that’s what we’re going to do,” the Mayor said.