City Council discusses City Manager Tommy Gonzalez

coming together as a group and i think we did that today … el paso’s city manager.. sharing his thoughts… in his own words. after being tangled in a web of alleged controversies, tommy gonzalez answers our questions today. it puts an end to the many months of silence as gonzalez was put under a microscope. a city investigation cleared gonzalez of any wrongdoing after he started looking for a replacement for the city’s new financial adviser. he did it based on a suggestion by former city rep larry romero . council never gave the official “o-k.” the job would have gone to this man, noe hinojosa, who romero used to be business partners with. but the investigation found no evidence that gonzalez or romero would make money off that deal. gonzalez could’ve been placed on paid administrative leave while his actions were investigated … but he stayed on the job. and council came up with a list of thirteen items that need to be addressed, about half of them impacting gonzalez directly. among them… gonzalez will have to consult with the city’s legal department before requesting any proposals. he must disclose all outside income … and paperwork detailing what he paid larry romero for tax services. council also came up with a new plan to improve gonzalez’s job performance which is considered a personnel matter and not public record. today council held its second meeting to discuss gonzalez’s performance improvement plan. abc-7’s darren hunt was there and continues… … our complete coverage live tonight. ashlie, two weeks ago, after council first met to discuss the city manager’s future … mayor leeser said it was up to gonzalez whether he cooperated and kept his job. and it appears that’s exactly what he’s done. “it was a very good discussio … ” mayor oscar leeser and the rest of city council emerged from the lenghty discussion with what appeared to be a new approach. “the last four hours that w spent in there together was to figure out how we could set new goals and expectations to continue to move the city forward and i’m excited for the citizens and the city of el paso that these last four hours we’ve been able to achieve that.” leeser and gonzalez stood together afterward and addressed the media together. it was the first time gonzalez, who indicated he cooperated fully, has spoken about the process in weeks. “i would say that today was about goals and expectations and about coming together as a group and i think we did that today.” “it was so contentious at times … is it difficult to move past it?” “the military experience and th ups and downs with playing football, you don’t always win, you don’t always throw touchdowns, you don’t always win every battle, but i think this wasn’t about that …today was about coming together as a group and looking at what’s best for this city, what’s best for this community.” “did you get all the answer that you wanted?” “oh absolutely, i think that wa important, we wanted to make sure that we had all the answers and we’d move forward.” “is this the final part of this process?” “you know for the council absolutely, you know we have set our goals to be able to come to a conclusion and move the city forward and we hope this will be a conclusion to this.” the statement of goals and expectations says … his relationship with council, which includes updating them on special projects and ensuring staff follows through … organizational management, focusing on restructuring and succession planning … communications and relations, including allocating necessary resources … aligning staff reporting with council goals … and an ethics ordinance focused on demonstrating accountability and ensuring ethical and honest behavior. also human resources, re- implementing performance reviews for employees at all levels … public relations and media, focusing on maintaing a positive relationship with the community and media. external relations, including the importance of representing the city at all levels … financial management, stressing the need to reconcile financial accounts … and personal attributes … which involves listening to ideas and building employee morale. rick and ashlie.