EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – El Paso City Manager Tommy Gonzalez has 28 days left in his contract after city council voted to terminate it back in February. In his place, Cary Westin was voted as interim in early May.

With less than a month before the contract expires, Westin has taken over daily operations but Gonzalez is still Manager until June 29.

“It’s a natural progression of this transition period in the last 30 days after we’ve had three months working very collaboratively together for me to now run the day-to-day operations of the city as the interim and having Tommy Gonzalez in his role as an advisor is a great resource for me,” said Westin.

Once he officially assumes the role as interim city manager, Westin said his priorities will include helping decide the next police chief, improving the quality of life, and assisting the city council in their search for the next permanent city manager.

“We’ll be bringing a search firm for the recommendation of the city council within the next month and continue that process but my role as the interim is to make sure that whoever is chosen, that we do a good handover, so we got continuity in the city.”

While Westin knows he will be facing new challenges during this time, he believes that learning under Tommy Gonzalez has helped him prepare.

“The biggest challenge is bringing a smart budget and a sustainable budget to the city council for a recommendation because we know it affects all the taxpayers.”