The five finalists for the position include Oscar Ramirez, Emett Alvarez, Molly Young, Becky Johnson and Mary Martinez.
Ginter expects to schedule the interviews next month and he will then decide which candidate to hire.
The decision was made at the end of a long subcommittee meeting of EIC board members Monday evening at City Hall.
EIC board members Mike Marshall, Brenda Treviño and Jessy T. Garza met with Ginter during the session. Subcommittee member Leticia Muñoz was unable to attend.
As the discussion began, Marshall said he was not sure he wanted to see the EIC employ a full-time director. He said he would prefer to see someone on the staff at City Hall take on the duties that an economic development director would perform.
Marshall also said he wanted to consider an offer made by Bee Development Authority Executive Director Joe B. Montez to handle economic development duties for both the EIC and BDA.
Marshall said he was concerned about duplicating economic development efforts.
But Garza expressed concern that getting the BDA staff to handle economic director duties for the EIC could be a conflict of interest.
Garza reminded the others that the BDA receives probably two-thirds of the 4B sales tax money the city collects each year to help fund projects at the Chase Field Industrial Airport Complex.
Marshall conceded that using the BDA for economic development director services could be a conflict of interest. But he said he was reluctant to see the EIC board become directly involved in employing a director who would be charged with economic development.
He suggested that the corporation could provide the funds for a director’s salary but place the position under the control of the City of Beeville and city manager.
Ginter refused to comment on the suggestion, saying he thought he was in no position to participate in making the decision. But the city manager said he would do whatever the EIC directs him to do.
Ginter said that if the city had the money to hire its own economic director and put that person in charge of administrative work for the EIC, “we probably would have taken that approach. But we don’t have the money.”
Ginter agreed that the director would have to be considered a city employee so the city could provide the benefits package.
Garza suggested that the BDA might feel threatened by the city and the EIC using the title of economic director for the administrative position. He said it might be a good idea to give that position another title.
Garza stressed the importance of seeing to it that the director has experience as a grant writer and said he would like to be part of the interview process to make sure the candidate selected has the qualifications he would like to see in the director.
“I’d like to interview them because I think it’s part of our responsibility,” Garza said.
“I don’t,” Marshall countered. He said again that he would prefer to see Ginter do the interviewing and then have the EIC provide the money for the salary.
Treviño agreed with Marshall. “I don’t like to micromanage,” she said.
Treviño said she would like to meet the candidate selected “but not necessarily interview them.”
“I don’t consider it micromanaging,” Garza said. “I think we have a fiduciary responsibility here.”
But Marshall said that fiduciary responsibility could be handled through a performance agreement between the EIC board and city. He said if a city employee is not producing but his or her salary is paid indirectly by the EIC, then the corporation board would have a right to bring up the issue.
Marshall made one motion that called for the EIC board to select finalists out a list of five candidates.
The motion called for Ginter to conduct the interviews and make the selection. Treviño seconded the motion and when the three voted, Marshall and Treviño voted for it and Garza voted against it.
But when the three discussed the motion seconds after the vote, Marshall said he had intended the motion to include the BDA offer as one of the options on the table for Ginter.
Garza objected. So Marshall rescinded the first motion and made a second one, that time omitting the BDA proposal from the list of options.
Again, Treviño seconded the motion and the vote was 2-1, with Garza voting against it. But Garza conceded and the issue passed.
Ginter announced that he will be out of town next week when the EIC board meets to decide on its list of finalists. But he will schedule the interviews as soon as he can.
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