City takes no action on police, fire chief positions

By MICHAEL RODRIGUEZ
Managing Editor
editor@sbnewspaper.com

The San Benito police and fire chiefs were back on the agenda during Tuesday’s regular city commission meeting.

Again an executive session item, the commission discussed behind closed doors the “appointment, evaluation, reassignment, and duties” pertaining to the chiefs, this as item 30 on a lengthy agenda. Following two hours in executive session, the commission reconvened and took no action on the item.

Commissioners at an Aug. 23 meeting first discussed the matter, which at the time was perceived by many in the community as a means to demote George Gomez from police chief. In fact, Chuy Aguilera, a business owner in San Benito displayed signs affixed to his truck supporting Gomez, and stated in a previous interview that city officials had decided not to demote the chief. “You don’t do that to any person, but from my understanding they solved the problem,” Aguilera said in an interview with the News on Tuesday, Aug. 23.

However, City Manager Manual Lara dispelled as much, stating that the discussions were part of a recommendation to the commission to restructure a number of departments.

Moves have already been made in reference to said restructuring, more significantly in Assistant City Manager Hector Jalomo who has been assigned duties pertaining to such departments as planning and zoning and public works, while Human Resources Director Arturo Rodriguez also serves as an assistant city manager in which his fields of responsibility concern civil service-related services and emergency management, i.e. the fire and police departments.

Commissioners have remained mum when asked to disclose the nature of the discussions about the police and fire chief posts and where they stand in the aforementioned restructuring.

Meanwhile, Jalomo and Rodriguez have reportedly already begun working in the two assistant city manager system, with the former assuming the duties once held by Martin Peña and Mayra Benedetti, the ex public works and planning and zoning directors, respectively. Peña and Benedetti’s posts were phased out and, as a result, are no longer employed with the City of San Benito.