Kyle challenged over lack of woman, Hispanic representation in management
Jackie Davis
Small Town Papers
Apr 4, 2007
BUDA, Texas (STPNS) -- Scanning a list of the top 10 highest paid people in the city, one sees a good mix of well-qualified people from a variety of different backgrounds.
Among the executive-level positions included on the list are the city manager, finance director and police chief as well as the city’s newest positions such as assistant city manager, planning director and communications director.
However, some city council and community members are concerned that two important ingredients seem to be missing from the mix. Only two Hispanics made the list, and after the addition of a planning director, no women currently make the list.
The city of Kyle had 17,770 people in 2005, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s estimates, and recently the city has announced that number has moved to more than 25,000. Of that number, a sizable portion is Hispanic. While demographics were not estimated in 2005, the most recent demographics in 2000 declared Kyle as 52.3 percent Hispanic or Latino.
The Bureau counted people of Hispanic and Latino origin at 31.2 percent in Hays County in 2005, also making up a sizable portion of Kyle’s surrounding community.
This information has sparked a unique response from councilmembers and others in Hays County about the dearth of Hispanics and the lack of women on the list of highest-paid people in Kyle administration.
“I firmly believe, in terms of staffing, that the staff needs to reflect the population that it serves,” said City Councilmember David Salazar, concerning what he considered a lack of Hispanic representation. “What you lose when you don’t have that diversity is the cultural perspective.”
While stressing the value of diversity, Salazar also said the matter did not have an easy solution.
“It’s difficult to talk about things like this because people think you’re in favor of quotas,” Salazar said. “At the same time, you need to serve your population. If a certain percentage speak another language, we need to serve them.”
However, Salazar also said the people who currently hold the 10 highest-paid people are well educated and qualified for their positions. Salazar acknowledged that good reputations preceded the people on the list. City Manager Tom Mattis agreed with Salazar’s assessment of their quality.
Mattis, who was assigned to hire most of the people on the list, said the council had been supportive of those chosen for the highest positions, and that he had received only positive feedback.
“My decision-making is simply finding the right person for the position,” Mattis said. “Frankly, I think I’m color-blind. On the application process, I don’t ask about their gender or race. It’s about getting the right person for the job.”
Communications Director Jerry Hendrix said part of the lack of diversity could be because the pool of qualified candidates Mattis chose from is often from outside the community and out of state. Hendrix said it could also be due to changing demographics in the community.
Mattis said the lack of diversity could be because the pool of qualified candidates was small and the need for someone to fill the positions was immediate.
“I’m dealing with a fairly finite group of people here,” Mattis said. “These aren’t generalist positions. Ideally, we’d have a well-balanced cultural mix, but with the need to get staffed up, we didn’t have the luxury of waiting.”
