El Paso City Manager terminates elected officials’ use of taxpayer-funded gas cards

Correction: ABC-7 incorrectly reported on Monday’s 10 p.m. newscast that Rep. Cassandra Hernandez had filed an ethics complaint against fellow representatives Brian Kennedy and Alexsandra Annello. The complaint was filed by Deborah Paz. We apologize for the error.

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- El Paso City Manager Cary Westin has terminated the use of taxpayer-funded gas cards by all elected officials, according to El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser.

"As a result of a recent audit which showed inconsistencies in the use of the gas cards by some members of the City Council, Interim City Manager Cary Westin made the decision to terminate the use of gas cards by elected officials, consistent with management’s response to the audit. I fully support this decision and appreciate Col. Westin’s prompt attention to this matter," the Mayor said in a statement to ABC-7 Monday.

The 'inconsistencies' Mayor Leeser referred to include significantly high spending on gas cards used by District 3 Representative Cassandra Hernandez and former District 6 Representative Claudia Rodriguez. The amounts spent by both Hernandez and Rodriguez were shown in a report issued by the City's Internal Audit Office on June 5.

ABC-7 reached out to each City Council member individually asking whether they agreed with the move to terminate the use of the cards. Of the eight representatives, only Hernandez and District 1 Representative Brian Kennedy responded.

While Kennedy deferred comment to Mayor Leeser's office, the report showed that the District 1 representative never used his issued gas card.

Hernandez's office deferred ABC-7 to the Management response given at a Financial Oversight and Audit Committee (FOAC) meeting on May 4. Observations published in a review of that meeting included recommendations to discontinue the use of gas cards by elected officials, and instead utilize a stipend for each official. The internal auditor also recommended that all card users be required to maintain fuel logs, and be given a brief refresher on how they can be used.

In a statement issued by Hernandez's office a day later, Hernandez said she was disappointed in FOAC's 'mishandled' administrative review.

"The Internal Auditor Charter provides specific steps for the Auditor to follow, and unfortunately, the City of El Paso's Auditor failed to comply with the requirements outlined. The Auditor neglected to allow my office sufficient time and process to address any 'observations' and failed to fulfill the 'Accountability' criteria on page two of the Charter," Hernandez said back in May. That same day, she refunded her portion to City of El Paso, but called her spending authorized.