Badillo hired as full-time financial advisor for City of Devine

Mary Badillo has been hired to fulfill the new position of full-time financial advisor for the City of Devine, effective May 15.
City Council tendered Badillo the offer at the Regular meeting held Tuesday, March 21.
The position comes with a yearly salary of $95,000 plus benefits. As part of the offer, Council credited Badillo with five years of City service, and waived the 60-day wait for insurance as well as the six-month waiting period to utilize annual leave.
Badillo has served as part-time financial advisor since 2012, helping Interim City Administrator Dora Rodriguez and City Treasurer Denise Duffy put together yearly budgets.
According to Rodriguez, in recent years much of the work on the budget has taken place outside of work hours, and Badillo’s new role will largely eliminate that.
“Instead of working late nights to meet [budget] deadlines, that will be done during the day,” Rodriguez said. “Mary will also help with other projects and administrative tasks.”
Mayor Bill Herring said that Badillo’s part-time salary is almost $30,000 a year. The funds to make up the remainder of her salary will come from money that is currently allocated to a City employee who is on the cusp of retirement, as well as what is coming off the books when the City finishes paying off the remainder of former City Administrator Joe Ramos’s contract.
Council members Hal Lance, Steve Lopez, David Valdez, and Kathy Wilkins entered executive session along with Rodriguez and Herring to discuss hiring for the position at 7:18 pm and reconvened in open session at 7:48 pm before unanimously extending Badillo the offer on a Lopez-Valdez motion.

By Marly Davis
Staff Writer