MARFA — City Councilmember Travis Acreman penned a letter to the editor in this week’s Big Bend Sentinel that alleges previous City Manager Andrea Walter was wrongfully terminated for discovering several instances of “willful mismanagement” by city officers, stretching back years and resulting in the loss of “millions of dollars.”

Walter served as the city manager for around a month and a half before she was fired last week. In Acreman’s letter he outlines two main issues Walter had uncovered and was working to solve, including fixing vital street repair equipment that had been left languishing for years in a city-owned utility yard and addressing hundreds of dead water meters that result in inequitable utility collections for City of Marfa customers.

The Sentinel spoke with Acreman, as well as council members Raul Lara, Eddie Pallarez and Mark Morrison about the allegations. Mayor Manny Baeza was unable to provide a comment by press time. Walter declined to comment.

Other council members acknowledged the existence of the issues Walter brought to light, but denied that whistleblowing was the reason for her termination. Instead, they said she failed to work well with the mayor, City Council and city staff.

“She was unable to have an effective professional, pleasant work environment with the staff and the entire council,” Morrison said. “It was just not a good fit.”

Pallarez said the end of her brief time as city manager was mutual. “She wanted to leave just as much as we...

Read Full Story: https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMisAFBVV95cUxOeElxYzJCTjRhclp6RnNZTFJW...