We are pleased to report that (Ret) Col. Cary Westin has signed a contract with El Paso Independent School District to serve as a business consultant, starting April 2.
We asked Superintendent Diana Sayavedra what, specifically, Westin would be tasked with achieving for EPISD. She responded that he will (1) seek creative solutions for the EPISD surplus properties, (2) strengthen the district’s partnership with the City, and (3) assist in streamlining operations for greater efficiency.
Superintendent Sayavedra, Chief Operating Officer S. B. Pearson, and their colleagues were wise to hire Col. Westin to help guide them through their $45 million budget shortfall over the next two fiscal years in addition to facing other challenges.
Col. Westin served in the US Army for 24 years and holds a Master of Military Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College. He began work at the City of El Paso in January 2014 as Managing Director of Economic Development and earned several promotions, culminating with his appointment to Interim City Manager in June 2023.
During his 15 months in that position, he worked with CFO Robert Cortinas to achieve a no-new-revenue tax rate for both FY 2024 and FY 2025 without issuing a single dollar of bond debt. He oversaw much-needed structural changes to our City government and significantly improved the work climate for the more than 6,000 employees. Impressively, he led the effort to eliminate Transportation Reinvestment Zone 2 and found additional savings by cutting waste and finding new efficiencies. The City maintained 81 days in its reserve fund balance when he left office in September.
In terms of streamlining government, we can say without qualification that Col. Westin achieved more in 15 months as Interim City Manager than his predecessor Tommy Gonzalez achieved during nearly 9 years in office, and he set an example for the managers of the other taxing entities to follow.
We are excited about Col. Westin’s collaboration with EPISD and look forward to seeing the district’s financial outlook improved.