After months of public deliberating, the Irving City Council voted last night to phase out Tommy Gonzalez as City Manager.
At one point a buy-out of $500k was proposed to terminate Gonzalez' contract, but Council members finally came to their senses and opted to leave Gonzalez on the job until October 1st. After that, he will remain as temporary consultant to a yet-to-be-decided interim city manager.
After seven years, Gonzalez will leave his city post at the end of this year.
The agreement was passed with a 5-3 vote. Unsurprisingly, Mayor Beth Van Duyne opposed the deal. Brad LaMorgese and Joe Putnam also voted against it. Dennis Webb was absent.
With the current deal in place, Gonzalez will not get severance unless he is terminated before the end of the year. The deal also includes the forgiveness of remaining payments on a $150,000 loan made to Gonzalez back in 2009. The Council did not explain why this "little" perk was thrown into the deal.
The Council also agreed to cease annual housing payments it made under the old contract that expires May 1st.
Most of those present to speak where there to support Gonzalez.
"Under his leadership the city has set the bar high for innovative practices, financial performance, and outstanding employee and customer satisfaction.", said Rory Phillips
"The bottom line is all that matters, let’s make decisions that supports [corporations] staying [in Irving], he has done an excellent job whether you like him or not, " Christina Winters Gears said, "As previously stated, management is not a popularity contest."
Council member Michael Gallaway addressed the public feuding that has accompanied contract negotiations began in February.
“This entire process has really caused division in the community,” he said, pleading for a change in tone for the remainder of the year.
Tom Spink, one of Gonzalez's strongest supports, said “We’re making a mistake... He’s going to be hired in 60 days from some city that knows what moving forward is all about.”
Mayor Van Duyne voiced her displeasure with the decision, “I believe we had two choices, that we either offer a contract with full acceptance and move forward or we allow the contract to end and then move forward. I think for employees to know that the city manager is only going to be here for an extra 8 months… I think for developers to know that they will only have a city manager here until October 1st, I think it’s sending the wrong message… and it’s very difficult to move forward under those situations and for that reason I will be voting against."
Gonzalez was pleased with the decision.
