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EPCC raises approved, no interim chief city auditor named [1]
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Date: 2025-08-08
This is your weekly news roundup, which takes a quick look at some developments in government, politics, education, environment and other topics across El Paso.
EPCC Board Makes 3% Employee Raise Part of 2025-26 Budget
The El Paso Community College Board of Trustees agreed to include a 3% raise for district employees in its 2025-26 fiscal year budget, which starts Sept. 1. The board voted 6-0 during a special meeting Aug. 6 at the Administrative Services Center, 9050 Viscount.
The raises for the approximately 2,400 staff, faculty and administrators will cost the district almost $3.1 million. Even with the raise, the district will keep a $1 million reserve for the next two years. Board secretary Carmen Olivas Graham was not present for the vote.
EPCC President William Serrata recommended the 3% raise to help cover inflation and a cost-of-living adjustment. The trustees approved a 4% pay raise last year.
Fernando Flores, vice president of Finance and Administration, shared different raise options and their effect on the preliminary budget of $173.9 million during a presentation. The board will vote on a final budget at its monthly meeting Aug. 27.
“We’re still adjusting our revenues,” Flores said after the meeting. “We’re going to be looking at all the other numbers in the budget, and we’re going to be tweaking.”
The preliminary budget is $7,435,116, or 4.5% more than last year’s amount. The main revenue sources will come from property taxes, $75.3 million; state appropriations, $49.8 million; and tuition and fees, $38.9 million.
The preliminary expenditures are just over $165 million. The main areas are instruction, $54.8 million; institutional support, $49.7 million; and academic support, $20.3 million.
No Interim Chief City Auditor Appointed after Edmundo Calderon’s Retirement
The City Council voted in large majority to not appoint an interim chief internal auditor while a permanent replacement is sought.
Longtime Chief Internal Auditor Edmundo Calderon’s last day at City Hall was Aug. 1 after informing the city he would retire. He remains on paid vacation until Oct. 10.
The City Council on Tuesday voted 7-1 to not appoint an interim. City Manager Dionne Mack will handle administrative functions of the internal auditor’s office, while the Financial Oversight and Audit Committee will continue overseeing the auditing aspect of the office with the deputy chief internal auditor.
It’s unclear when or how the City Council will hire a permanent replacement for Calderon or whether an outside firm or the city’s human resources will lead the search.
The auditor reviews city programs, operations and financial expenditures to make sure employees are following policies and local and state laws and regulations.
The auditor reports directly to the chair of the FOAC, which is currently city Rep. Josh Acevedo. The FOAC is made up of four City Council members and the city manager.
Calderon worked with the city for 20 years. He retired after a tumultuous three-years that involved a whistleblower lawsuit, a controversial fuel-card audit of elected officials and a change in management structure following a City Charter amendment election.
EPCC Trustees OK Lease with Canutillo ISD for Northwest Early College
The El Paso Community College Board of Trustees voted 7-0 to approve a ground-lease agreement with the Canutillo Independent School District for its new Northwest Early College High School. The decision was made during the trustees’ July 30 monthly meeting at the EPCC Administrative Services Center, 9050 Viscount Blvd.
The board voted to approve the item after an executive session with no discussion. Board Chairman Brian Haggerty said the rental agreement was for 50 years at $1 a year.
“We are still figuring out some things,” Haggerty said. “We haven’t signed the contract yet. The attorneys still had to do some stuff.”
A college spokeswoman said negotiations between the two institutions were ongoing and she had no additional details at this time.
The Canutillo district has wanted for years to build a brick-and-mortar Northwest Early College High School on the EPCC Northwest Campus, 6701 S. Desert Blvd. CISD voters approved a $387 million bond issue in May 2024 that included the early college high school project. NECHS, which opened in 2008, has been housed in portable buildings on EPCC land.
CISD budgeted $40.5 million for the new building. Students who attend this school can earn an associate degree at the same time as their high school diploma.
According to a CISD spokesman, the NECHS project is on schedule. The schematic and design development phases were completed this spring, and the project will go to the district’s board of trustees in late September. The bidding process is supposed to start this month.
Groundbreaking is scheduled to begin in October 2026 and the school should open for the spring 2027 semester, according to the district schedule.
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https://elpasomatters.org/2025/08/08/el-paso-news-epcc-william-serrata-canutillo-cisd-northwest-early-college-high-school/
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