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SAN BENITO — The San Benito Economic Development Corporation’s new board of directors is searching for the agency’s next director, hoping to stop the high turnover rate that’s eaten into the department for more than 10 years.
Two weeks after past Executive Director Ramiro Aleman resigned after about a year on the job, board members are focusing on searching for a candidate who can bring stability to the city’s economic arm.
“That is one of the primary goals and expectations of our board of directors,” Alex Salinas, the board’s new president, said.
Now, the board is advertising for the job with the Texas Economic Development Council along with Indeed.com and LinkedIn, Julia Landrum, the EDC’s interim executive director, said.
“It’s in motion,” Thomas Garza, the board’s new vice president, said. “We’ve got big shoes to fill — our previous director was strong. Our current interim is capable of making the transition. We look forward to finding the right candidate.”
The board is searching for a candidate with five years’ experience in economic development or finance, the job’s posting states.
While calling for candidates holding a bachelor’s degree, the board prefers those with a master’s degree in public administration, business management, real estate or urban planning, .
Meanwhile, the position’s salary depends on the candidate’s qualifications.
At the time of his resignation, Aleman was drawing a $103,000 salary.
For more than 10 years, the position’s turnover rate has led to instability within the department charged with drawing new business and economic development to the city.
Aleman, who was hired in October 2021, resigned late last month to take the top job with Cameron County’s new economic development department, paying a $95,000 salary.
Before he took the job, the position had remained vacant for about three months following Rebeca Castillo’s resignation in June 2022 after about three years.
Amid Castillo’s tenure, a split city commission cut into her job title in June 2021, giving past City Manager Manuel De La Rosa the EDC’s chief executive officer’s job along with a $45,000 pay increase.
By October 2021, Castillo had returned to the CEO’s post.
Before Castillo took the position in February 2019, the EDC executive director’s job had remained vacant for about three years.
In 2016, De La Rosa took over as the agency’s director before replacing the position with a coordinator’s job, naming Rachel Siller to the post from which she resigned in late 2018.
Before taking on the job, De La Rosa fired Salomon Torres after he had served as the EDC’s executive director since 2012.
After De La Rosa fired him, the police department, with the Cameron County District Attorney’s Office, launched an investigation into Torres.
For months, police officials declined comment on the investigation.
On Tuesday, Police Chief Mario Perea said the investigation had found no wrongdoing.
“The investigation couldn’t prove anything of a criminal (nature) so the case was filed away in 2016,” he said.
Torres, who could not be reached for comment Tuesday, did not respond to a private Facebook message.
Before her resignation in 2012, Alma Puente Colelli worked as the EDC’s longest-serving executive director in at least 20 years.
In 2006, Colelli took the position after Executive Director Sid Marquez resigned after about a year on the job.
In 2005, Albert Gonzalez resigned after about three years as the EDC’s executive director.
