Fernando Del Valle, Valley Morning Star, Harlingen, Texas
5 min read
Oct. 24—Only have a minute? Listen instead
SAN BENITO — After a four-month search, a new boss is taking over at City Hall.
Newly appointed City Manager Fred Sandoval will mark his first day on the job Wednesday after commissioners unanimously named him to the city's top administrative position Saturday.
As part of an agreement, commissioners are signing Sandoval, who served as Pharr's city manager for more than 11 years before working as a consultant, to a one-year contract paying between $130,000 and $135,000 a year, opening with a six-month probationary period, Commissioner Pete Galvan said.
"We want to make sure before we commit to someone in the long-term, so this contract was a win for San Benito," he said. "We got him at a good price and we got a good candidate."
On Tuesday, the Valley Morning Star filed a request under the Texas Public Information Act, requesting the candidates' names.
During a four-hour meeting opening at 8 a.m. Saturday, commissioners interviewed five candidates, including Sandoval, giving each about 30-minute interviews.
"Each one was different and unique — each one brought something different to the table," Mayor Rick Guerra said in an interview. "I wanted someone who knew the conditions of San Benito."
Guerra said he also considered other candidates for the job.
"I had my eyes on other people," he said. "Even though I wanted other people, I didn't want a 3-2 (vote). A commission needs to be united."
During the interview session, commissioners asked each candidate two questions.
"My questions dealt around the candidate's perceptions of San Benito," Commissioner Tom Goodman said, adding he also asked, "What would be your 30-, 60-, 90-day plan?"
During the search, commissioners advertised for the job on the city's website, on Indeed.com and with the Texas Municipal League, Galvan said.
Amid the process, Goodman, who proposed hiring a recruiter to conduct the hunt, called on commissioners to speed up the search.
"The citizens were saying, 'Enough is enough. Are you going to find anyone?'" Guerra said. "We needed a city manager. We needed somebody there to move the city with experience. We need to start moving — a lot harder and a lot faster."
Commissioners said Sandoval's experience helped lead them to their selection.
"He has over 25 years of economic development and city management experience," Galvan said. "He has a public works background. He is citizen-minded and I like that he wants to get all the local organizations together so we can move the town in a positive light."
Galvan said he wants the city to develop as Pharr has grown.
"Pharr was always known as a bedroom community. Their economic growth was a product of his doing," he said, referring to Sandoval. "We want to be a player like Brownsville and Harlingen."
Goodman said Sandoval believes he can pull the city together.
"In particular, I'm interested in what he portrays as his ability to bring us together and I believe he might be able to do that, coming from politically charged environments in the Upper Valley," he said. "He has experience with government and consulting and he has experience in sewer and water, economic development and dealing with the politics of everything. While we had lots of disagreements about the (search) process, we arrived at a conclusion we are happy with."
Meanwhile, Commissioner Deborah Morales pointed to Sandoval's range of experience spanning 30 years.
"In Pharr, he wore many hats," she said. "He started at public works and worked his way up to city manager and economic development director."
During his tenure, Sandoval helped bring businesses such as Costco Wholesale and Papadeaux Seafood Kitchen to Pharr, she said.
"It's a sigh of relief," she said, referring to the appointment of San Benito's new city manager. "I think the commission has made a good choice. Our main concern is moving the city forward and I believe Mr. Sandoval's qualifications are going to help us do that."
Sandoval, who studied biology at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley from 1990-1991, served as Pharr's city manager from 2004 to 2015 before taking over as owner of Sylvan Learning from 2016 to 2021, according to LinkedIn.
Since 2021, he's served as chief executive officer with Renryder Solutions while working as a field consultant with Strategic Partnerships in Austin since 2022, the resume information states.
Sandoval's selection comes after a four-month search during which commissioners switched to two interim city managers to run daily operations.
On June 20, commissioners voted 4-1 to buy out City Manager Manuel De La Rosa's contract for about $200,000, turning down his offer to stay on the job for up to 60 days, with Commissioner Carol Lynn Sanchez casting the dissenting vote.
After about seven years on the job, De La Rosa was drawing an annual salary of $175,000.
Meanwhile, commissioners hired Gavino Sotelo, a former Harlingen city manager who previously served as general manager of the Laguna Madre Water District, to serve as interim city manager.
After Sotelo suddenly resigned three weeks into the job, commissioners appointed City Secretary Ruth McGinnis to take over as interim city manager as officials worked to draft the city's new $16.8 million general fund budget.
