New P.A. finance director desires transparency
Published 8:56 pm Tuesday, October 17, 2017
By David Ball
Andrew Vasquez, CPA and new finance director for the city of Port Arthur, said he wants to add transparency to the finance department.
“I tell my staff I’m vested in this organization,” he said.
Vasquez has been on the job for two weeks.
He graduated in accounting from San Diego State University. He started his career in private accounting with the firm of Deloitte, one of the big four accounting firms. His governmental career started with the city of Phoenix and then San Antonio in the Bexar Water District. He then transferred to the city of Houston.
He’s married with two sons. One graduated from Kansas State University in accounting and is employed with Price-Waterhouse in Houston. His second son is at KSU and majoring in education.
Vasquez said he doesn’t have much time for hobbies, but he loves classic cars. He owns a 1964 Chevrolet El Camino while his eldest son owns a 1965 Chevrolet C-10 pickup truck they restored.
“My favorite job (in Houston) was working with the central office because you get a whole view of the city and everything that’s going on,” he said. “I have a lot of knowledge and I want to share it. I was looking to move to a smaller community. I’m constantly observing and I like to teach.”
Vasquez would like to update the city’s accounting system in which he called “rather old.”
Another goal is to work in collaboration with the city manager’s office and the city council to give them information so they can make good decisions, “to know where we’ve been and where we’re going.”
Consequently, Vasquez said he already has a plan in place for financing street improvements.
“Debt isn’t always a bad thing, but you have to manage it properly,” he said. “It’s about what we need.”
He added that the streets project, one of the city’s most pressing issues, is a collaboration between the finance department, the city manager, public works and the citizens.
“The citizens tell us what they want and city manager (Brian) McDougal recommends things to us. We’ll take this plan out five years, while we show the plan and how the money is spent.”
After Tropical Storm Harvey, Vasquez said the city of Port Arthur faces a huge burden, as does Houston, where he just left. He said both cities are in the same boat and need to proceed cautiously.
He expects hurricane money to soon start coming in and for the city to be reimbursed.
“We want to capture all the information along the way because it’s a long process. We want to keep impeccable documents,” he said.
Vasquez was hired in at a salary lower than what he was told when he first accepted the position. This is because the city council refused to approve a new salary despite McDougal’s request.
“I took the lesser salary. It was a little disappointing. I already had given notice to my employer,” he said. “I had discussions with other professionals and they told me to make the best of it.
He was originally offered a salary of $135,000, but the council voted to pay him $117,591, the salary of the outgoing person.
But, Vasquez was not deterred.
“This is the last lap in my career. I don’t mean I’m going to leave early. It seems like an exciting time to be here. It’s an opportunity for the city. I think I’m the right guy for the job.”