Audit reveals more “excessive” gas card usage from city representatives in 2020, 2021

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- El Paso's Financial Oversight & Audit Committee (FOAC) has released previously unseen reports regarding tax-payer funded gas card and P-Card usage among city representatives and certain city employees.

The reports found more of what the audits call “excessive” gas card usage from multiple city representatives.

FOAC completed these additional audits after District 3 Representative Cassandra Hernandez and former District 6 Representative Claudia Rodriguez were found to have used their gas cards “excessively” in 2022.

These new audits ABC-7 obtained are from 2020 and 2021, and they show similar spending habits from Hernandez, who is running for mayor, and Rodriguez, who is currently running for the County Commissioner Precinct 1 seat as a Republican.

The findings show that in 2020, Hernandez's gas card was used to spend $1,700 -- the highest among all city reps that year. A close second was Rodriguez, with a bit less than $1,700. In third place was former District 2 Representative Alexsandra Annello, with almost $1,400. The rest of the city representatives at the time spent less than $400 combined. 

In 2021, Rodriguez spent the most out of everyone, with $3,800. Hernandez spent about $3,000.  Annello was in third place with more than $1,700. The rest of the city representatives spent less than a thousand each, with some not even spending a dime. 

The numbers from those years are marginally less than in 2022, which ABC-7 reported on last year.

In 2022, Hernandez spent nearly $7,000. Rodriguez's card was used to spend just over $5,000.

No one else spent more than $2,400.

Hernandez and Rodriguez’s gas purchases from 2020 and 2021 were 33 and 28 percent respectively of gas card usage between the Mayor and all city councilors. 

The audits also found Rodriguez made gas purchases in Fort Stockton, TX, and Carlsbad, NM in 2021, and the auditor’s office says they couldn’t find a reason why. 

According to City Auditor Edmundo Calderon, her 2021 usage appears "excessive."

Travel reimbursements to former city manager Tommy Gonzalez were also highlighted in the reviews.

According to the audit, Gonzalez paid for a flight to Washington, D.C. in 2022 using personal reward points, and was then reimbursed $1,457 by the city for that flight.

Auditor Calderon says the personal reward points were accrued from city-related travel. 

It should be noted Gonzalez was initially charged $317 before this audit, which the city says he did pay back.

The Office of Management and Budget says it intends to send an invoice to Gonzalez of how much he owes to the city. 

ABC-7 reached out to Hernandez, Rodriguez, and Gonzalez, who is now the city manager of Midland, Texas.

We didn’t hear back from Rodriguez or Gonzalez at the time of this publication, but Hernandez did send ABC-7 a statement.

Read Hernandez's statement in full here:

"In 2020, my fuel expenses totaled $1,751, which is 58% lower than the City Auditor's annual fuel allowance of $4,200. In 2021, I spent $3,087 on fuel, still 27% below the Auditor's allowance. It is troubling that recent audits have targeted my fuel usage exclusively. The Chairman of the FOAC, who has mayoral aspirations, is driving these audits. The Auditor should ensure that these proceedings are devoid of political bias. Unfortunately, it seems that the selective examination of my expenses is politically motivated rather than based on fiscal prudence."

Cassandra Hernandez

FOAC Chairman and District 1 Representative Brian Kennedy responded to Hernandez's claims Monday evening.

In a statement to ABC-7, he said “as chairman of the financial oversight and audit committee, I feel it would be inappropriate to issue any comments until after the committee meeting.”

FOAC will be discussing these findings in a meeting this Wednesday. You can count on ABC-7 to be there.

ABC-7 also filed an open records request on February 13 with the city on behalf of viewers asking for these additional gasoline usage reviews for 2020 and 2021.

The City Attorney's Office sought an opinion from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to block the release of the records citing an ongoing investigation. 

FOAC ultimately released the reviews on Friday, despite a pending decsion from Paxton's office.

At last check, EPPD said it had no open cases.  

In February, the FBI in El Paso confirmed to ABC-7 that it investigated allegations of excessive use amongst city representatives’ taxpayer-funded gasoline cards, and the case is now in the hands of federal prosecutors.