Three weeks ago, the Odessa City Council voted 5-2 to fire the city manager and the city attorney and to “begin the search process” for their positions.
However, neither position has been advertised and the council is now poised to spend $338,000 on a consulting firm to “provide professional services for the benefit of the interim city manager, including advising and consulting, organizational analysis and training on leadership transition management.”
On Dec. 13, the council fired City Manager Michael Marrero and City Attorney Natasha Brooks without explanation and appointed former Billings and Collections Director Agapito Bernal as interim city manager and former senior city attorney Dan Jones as interim city attorney.
According to Tuesday’s agenda, the council is being asked to approve a resolution that would allow them to amend this year’s budget to hire T2 Professional Consulting.
If hired, T2 will also conduct “diagnostic meetings” with city leadership and internal and external stakeholders, create a “benchmark” committee and guide the council in public relations.
According to the resolution, T2 will provide Bernal training in “leadership processes and tools,” “recruitment and selection” and “group development and engagement.”
Lastly, the company would serve as a liaison with vendors hired to complete specific tasks.
District 2 City Council member Steve Thompson said most contracts are part of the packet given to council members prior to their meetings, but no proposed contract with T2 was attached.
Based on the wording on the agenda, Thompson speculated some council members may want T2 to groom Bernal for Marrero’s position without engaging in a search for a qualified candidate.
No other council members returned phone calls seeking comment.
Thompson voted against Marrero and Brooks’ termination, calling them excellent employees.
Bernal met with all city department heads two weeks ago and issued various directives. Bernal spoke about “empowering” trusted employees, transparency, teamwork and improving customer service, not only with residents, but amongst each other.
“What we want to do is tear down these silos. There will be no more siloing. We’re going to work together because we are one organization and everyone needs each other. No one can do it on their own. No one can. We need each other,” Bernal said.
Bernal said all of the departments need to come together to form one organization.
“Everyone here is so special to do what they do. Just think if we all just go the same way,” Bernal said. “We’ll be unstoppable.”
Bernal also told the department heads to update their city website pages, give organizational charts to the city’s human resource director and to start thinking about zero-based budgeting because the city needs to “find some money.”
According to LinkedIn, T2 was founded 15 months ago by Michael Wilson, a former Keller police chief who also created New in Blue at the same time. The latter is a business that provides law enforcement agencies with comprehensive technology solutions.
A search of T2’s address comes back to a house in Fort Worth.
Public safety raises are also on Tuesday’s agenda. The council is set to discuss the “results of the public safety personnel salary implementation. The results of the public safety salaries will be discussed.”
During the Dec. 13 meeting, the city council voted 5-2 to immediately give raises to Odessa’s emergency responders using American Rescue Plan Act funds.
District 1 council member Mark Matta told his colleagues the raises would cost the city $2.9 million a year, but acknowledged he had not run his numbers past Assistant City Manager of Administrative Services Cindy Muncy, who has since announced she is resigning effective Friday.
Thompson said Monday night the actual cost of the raises is well over $3 million.
No information about the raises was included in the council members’ packet. Nor was there any information in the packet about forensic audits.
The council is scheduled to discuss going out to bid for a forensic audit Tuesday night as well. A forensic audit is an examination of financial records to find any illegal financial activity.
Thompson said he doesn’t see the need for a forensic audit and noted that although the city’s charter allows for an annual audit, it doesn’t allow for a forensic audit.
According to city records, the council is also scheduled to discuss reconstructing 17,000 square feet of pavement on East 31st Street from Andrews Highway to North Dixie Boulevard. The project will also include the installation of alley approaches, replacing curbs, gutters and sidewalks.
Four companies bid on the project, with the highest bid coming in at $2.7 million and the lowest at $1,450,000.
City staff also hopes to convince the council to replace a 2013 sewer vacuum truck at a cost of $526,246 and purchase nearly $953,000 worth of sodium hydroxide, a chemical they buy annually to increase pH levels in potable water to help protect against corrosion.
Starting next week, the Odessa City Council will begin holding its work session meetings just prior to their regularly scheduled council meetings, which are held on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month.
The discussions held during the first work session of every month will pertain to items scheduled to be voted on during the fourth Tuesday of the month.
The council approved the change in order to give city staff additional time to prepare for council meetings as they will no longer have to meet on the first and third Tuesday of the month.
