Mayor, council and staff have high hopes despite past firings
Alpine
New Alpine City Manager Henry Arredondo took office on Tuesday, with a background in finance and leadership style that impressed city officials despite issues with two previous organizations.
Mayor Catherine Eaves said he was her first choice in candidates reviewed. He was also the first choice for City Council members and staff, Eaves said. “You know when we started that interview, we were just going to talk to him, find out who he is, what his thoughts are. We didn’t intend to offer him the job, but he just blew us away.” Eaves, all members of the City Council and city department directors participated in the interview process.
It was Arredondo’s experience that impressed them, Eaves said, including his long history in finance, his stints as city manager for Del Rio and Dilley, Texas, and his leadership style.
They were impressed despite Arredondo’s troubled departure from the City of Del Rio and the San Felipe-Del Rio Consolidated Independent School District. Arredondo was fired from his position as Del Rio city manager after nearly four years (2015-2018) there.
Arredondo attributed his firing to differences with a new administration. The firing came soon after Mayor Bruno Lozano was elected to office and was not a unanimous decision for the Del Rio City Council. The vote was 4-2.
“So there was an election in May. A new mayor comes in, and he decides that he wants to terminate me,” Arredondo said. There was no reason given, he added. Lozano did not respond to messages left by Big Bend Sentinel.
City officials and staff are aware of his dismissal from Del Rio and his departure from the school district, Eaves said, adding that most of the candidates had similar incidents in their careers.
“The average career span of a city manager is about three to five years in the state of Texas,” Eaves said, “Councils change. You have different personalities. And it’s just a tough job.”
City officials and staff are also impressed with Arredondo’s leadership style, Eaves said. “We were adamant as a council that we have some one who will let the directors do their jobs because they are the experts,” she said. “That has not been the case recently.”
After growing up in Del Rio, Arredondo attended Texas State University and received a degree in finance with additional classes in accounting. He went on to receive a master’s degree in management from Sul Ross State University and is working on a certificate as a public manager through Texas State University.
After getting his degree in finance, Arrendondo moved to Mexico where he worked in that area for various companies.
He spent 25 years in Mexico working for international companies including German, Japanese and American. The work was “mostly finance,” Arredondo said, “keeping the books, costing products. Every month you have to calculate your profits. You do the accounting, close the books.” He said the companies were $75 million to $300 million companies.
Arredondo’s career in city administration began in Del Rio when he was hired as the city’s chief accountant in 1998. “And that’s kind of where I learned, the structure of a full-service municipality,” he said.
At that time, Del Rio was about two years behind in city accounting, Arredondo said.
“When you get into a situation like that, there’s a lot of learning and growth that happens, because you’re under pressure,” Arredondo said. “You’re behind, so you’re actually working on the current plus catching up. So, there’s a lot of work that needs to be delegated to others.”
He also gained a lot of experience from the city’s handling of a flood that damaged more than 1,000 homes, during that time, Arredondo said.
Arredondo left his position as the city administrator of Dilley, Texas, to come to Alpine. Dilley City Secretary Natasha Prado, who worked directly with Arredondo, praised his leadership style and his expertise in finance. She learned a lot from Arredondo, said Prado, and believes that he has a lot to share with Alpine staff.
Arredondo is tied to Alpine through marriage. His wife, whom he met while he was a student at Sul Ross, was raised in Alpine and much of her family still lives here. His wife, who is a teacher and the owner of her own soap-making business, is considering opening a store in Alpine, Arredondo said.
A lawsuit filed by Arredondo against the City of Del Rio is still active. The suit alleges that the city violated its contract by terminating him without a unanimous council vote. His contract stated that a termination required a unanimous vote, and attorneys are in the process of determining what the city owes him, Arredondo said.
After his dismissal from the City of Del Rio, Arredondo worked as the chief financial officer for the San Felipe-Del Rio district. Arredondo left that position after his department fell for an online scam which misdirected a debt payment.
While the monies were sent by another employee and the scam was caught before the funds left the bank, school district officials held him responsible, Arredondo said.