Dear Mayor and City Council,
On November 8, 2022, Proposition C passed with only 50.63% voter support, mandating “the issuance of $5,200,000 General Obligation Bonds for renewable energy and resource use efficiency improvements and planning.” The bond ordinance includes no reference to a Climate Officer or a Climate Director. Nevertheless, City Manager Tommy Gonzalez created the Office of Climate & Sustainability in late January 2023 by executive fiat, only weeks before he was fired, and named Nicole Ferrini “Climate and Sustainability Officer.”
And then Ferrini falsely suggested to City Council on March 14, 2023 that Proposition C did, in fact, authorize the creation of her office. (See the City video, starting at the 2:56 mark). Thankfully, she resigned this past November amid allegations of falsifying parts of her resume and misrepresenting herself as an architect.
You will recall that the Sunrise El Paso activists managed to place Proposition K, which specifically mandated establishing a “Climate Department” and “Climate Director,” on the May 6, 2023 ballot. But Proposition K was rejected by 40,767 voters, representing 81.57% of total votes cast.
So not only is there no mandate for an Office of Climate & Sustainability and a Climate and Sustainability Officer, but this was clearly rejected by the voters of El Paso.
We examined the Adopted Budget Book for FY 2024 and on page 409 found that the City allocated $1,000,000 for its “Climate Action Master Plan” in FY 2024, with another $1,000,000 planned for FY 2025, $2,000,000 for FY 2026, and $1,000,000 for FY 2027.
Given the City’s need to find an additional $33 million per year to fund street repair, we suggest that you begin by eliminating the Climate & Sustainability Office, which serves no useful purpose. You can put up agenda items to improve energy efficiency in City buildings without creating a governmental unit that would do the same thing.
Que tengan un buen domingo.