SAN BENITO — City Manager Manuel De La Rosa is up for a $5,000 pay increase — less than three months after his job was apparently on the line.
Earlier this week, city commissioners voted 3-2 to give De La Rosa an “above-satisfactory” evaluation on his job performance.
Under De La Rosa’s contract, above-satisfactory evaluations trigger annual $5,000 pay increases.
“I would like to thank the mayor and commissioners for their continued support,” De La Rosa stated yesterday. “I look forward to continuing my efforts to lead the city of San Benito in its future growth and development.”
While Mayor Ben Gomez and Commissioners Rene Villafranco and Carol Lynn Sanchez voted to give De La Rosa high marks, Commissioners Tony Gonzales and Rick Guerra voted against the motion during Tuesday’s meeting.
“I don’t think he’s doing a good job,” Gonzales said yesterday.
However, Gonzales declined to disclose details.
“He’s not performing the way he should,” Gonzales said.
De La Rosa declined comment.
Villafranco and Sanchez did not respond to requests for comment on De La Rosa’s job performance.
Since his hiring in December 2015, city commissioners have given De La Rosa above-average evaluations, which have led to annual $5,000 pay increases.
Through most of his tenure, De La Rosa has appeared to have the commission’s support.
Then in September, Gonzales and Guerra called a meeting to discuss firing him.
After a closed-door session at that time, Gomez announced commissioners chose not to take action against De La Rosa.
In December 2015, De La Rosa was hired at a salary of $95,000.
A year later, commissioners approved a revised contract running through January 2020 which set his salary at $110,000.
Now, his salary stands at $115,000.
De La Rosa’s salary lags behind the average salary of city managers of cities with populations similar to those of San Benito, McClain has stated.
According to the Texas Municipal League, city managers in like-sized cities draw average salaries of $154,000.
