New Mayor and Council Will Face Personnel Challenges

Brenda Gunter has served as San Angelo’s Mayor for almost eight years. San Angelo faced many difficulties during her tenure, not the least of which was the COVID-19 pandemic. She will be stepping down in May as she is term limited by the City Charter from running for another term. A new Mayor and council members for SMDs 2, 4 and 6 will be elected May 3, 2025. The new Mayor and council have their work cut out for them. There will be many challenges facing the City in the years ahead. But perhaps the most critical will be personnel.

Many senior management and staff will be moving toward retirement in the next five to ten years, including the City Manager. In addition, the City is periodically faced with the loss of long serving senior staff to retirement and to go to work for other cities. Bob Salas the City’s long time Neighborhood and Family Services Director retired a couple of weeks ago. A few months ago the City’s Planning Director John James left the City, and recently City Attorney Theresa James took a position with the City of Fort Worth.

This problem the City faces is not limited to San Angelo. It is the reality all across the country and will make the future Mayor and council’s job even harder. Trends are hard to reverse and the field of city administration is not attracting younger people. The profession is aging and the pool of experienced and available candidates is shrinking. The City will face increased pressure to recruit new senior staff, and will likely have to pay more if it wants talented and experienced city management. Unfortunately, the City’s personnel challenges are not limited to senior management.

The City already struggles with personnel retention and paying competitive salaries for employees at all levels . This problem is across the board but has been a constant struggle for police and fire over the years, especially with the low level of pay compared to other cities the size of San Angelo. The police department especially has been a revolving door of hiring and training new officers only to have them leave to go to work for another city for higher pay and better benefits. Our aging staff also presents another problem. The growing list of the city’s retirees, and the fact that they are living longer has a significant impact on the city’s budget considering pension obligations and providing health insurance to retirees. Figuring out how to keep the City’s promises to its retirees without bankrupting the City is not a job for the faint of heart.

The filing period to run for Mayor and City Council opens January 15 and runs through February 14. The election season will be upon us soon. Serious candidates for Mayor and Council need to consider this issue and be ready to answer tough questions about how we plan to deal with this looming personnel problem and what it means for the future of San Angelo.