San Benito gives city manager 3-year, $150,000 contract

Fred Sandoval

SAN BENITO — Closing a six-month probationary period, City Manager Fred Sandoval’s landing a three-year contract along with a $15,000 raise.

Earlier this week, city commissioners met with Sandoval in closed session, extending his one-year contract to three years while bumping his salary from $135,000 to $150,000.

On Wednesday, Commissioner Tom Goodman said Sandoval requested a three-year agreement while commissioners offered him the $15,000 pay increase.

“The city commission and Mr. Sandoval continue to improve and strengthen our relationship,” he said in an interview after Tuesday night’s meeting. “It’s not a very long contract. Again, we continue to develop a very trusting relationship.”

Last October, commissioners hired Sandoval, a former longtime Pharr city manager, to replace former City Manager Manuel De La Rosa, who was drawing a $175,000 salary when commissioners bought out the last year of his contract for about $200,000 after about six years on the job.

When commissioners offered a one-year $135,000 contract opening with the six-month probationary period last October, the parties agreed to consider extending the agreement at the close of six-month period, Sandoval said Wednesday.

“The agreement was, at the end of the six months we’d come back and look at the contract. We’re at that point,” he said in an interview. “I’m humbled and blessed to serve the citizens of San Benito and the mayor and commissioners.”

The new three-year contract helps keep Sandoval in office, Mayor Rick Guerra said.

“We’re trying to secure him,” he said. “We’re trying to keep him here because he’s a good asset to the city. I think he’s worth every single penny.”

Closing Sandoval’s six-month probationary period, Guerra hailed his job performance.

“He’s doing a heck of a job,” he said. “He’s been busy. Fred is knowledgeable, he’s accessible. He’s a go-getter. He’s a people-person. He’s got an open-door policy. He’s been talking with business to bring in business. That’s the kind of person you want as a city manager.”

At City Hall, officials are working to turn the city into a commercial center, Guerra said.

“We’re trying to make San Benito the centralized city between Harlingen and Brownsville,” he said. “What we’re trying to do is bring warehouses in. It’s what’s in demand. There’s a lot of negotiation going on.”

The office of the city manager is pictured Friday, June 2, 2023, at the San Benito Municipal Building in San Benito. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)

Sandoval described his first six months on the job as “a great experience.”

“From the first day, they were very clear about their expectations with me and very clear with their vision of the city and set goals for me and I’ve checked every one off,” Sandoval said. “I’m pleased they believed in me to put me at the helm where I could do what I love to do, and that is manage cities and grow economic development. I think we had a good six months. I think we built a lost of trust. I trust them, they trust me.”

From the city manager’s office, Sandoval’s also heading the city’s economic arm.

In March, commissioners appointed him economic development director, with the city’s EDC paying him a $75,000 salary, bumping up his overall pay package to $225,000.

At the EDC, Sandoval took over for Ramiro Aleman, the agency’s former executive director who was drawing a $103,000 salary when he resigned in November to take on a job as head of Cameron County’s first economic development department.

“There’s a lot of things we’re working on,” Sandoval said. “Developers are following me here. I’m going to use my network to grow San Benito — a lot of economic development and development projects. There’s a lot of good things to come.”

Sandoval, who served as Pharr’s city manager from 2004 to 2015 before taking over as owner of Sylvan Learning from 2016 to 2021, had been serving as chief executive officer with Renryder Solutions since 2021 while working as a field consultant with Strategic Partnerships in Austin since 2022, his LinkedIn profile stated.

During his 11-year stint as Pharr’s city manager, he also served as executive director of the city’s economic development department, helping to draw businesses such as Costco Wholesale and Papadeaux Seafood Kitchen.

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