Under an agreement, he will become the special projects coordinator
Eric Lujan is no longer the Española city manager.
In a 5-3 vote, the City Council accepted a settlement allowing him to resign as city manager effective at the end of the business day on Friday. The settlement also creates a new position for Lujan so that he can remain employed by the city until Sept. 30.
He will now be the city’s special project coordinator and report directly to Mayor John Ramon vigil. He will also retain his current salary of $109,000.
The vote came after a nearly two-hour executive session for an individual performance evaluation of Lujan at the Tuesday council meeting.
Lujan did not return a telephone message seeking comment about the settlement.
In a text message, Vigil wrote that he declined to comment.
Settlement terms
In addition to retaining his pay rate, Lujan will also continue to receive benefits, but will not accrue annual leave, sick leave or vacation with or without pay. All of his annual leave will be paid out as of May 30.
Lujan cannot disclose the conditions that led to his separation from the city and he must say it was a voluntary resignation. By signing, he agreed to take no action against the city to recover any wages or compensation. The settlement also bars the city from filing civil lawsuits, charges or complaints against him.
As the special projects coordinator, Lujan will be involved with roads, parks and finances.
According to the settlement, he will assist with roads projects on Silkey Way, Camino Miramontes, Paseo de Oñate, Coronado Avenue, La Joya Street, East Pueblo Drive and State Road 76, as well as helping with New Mexico Department of Transportation projects.
He will also be involved in the renovations of Santa Cruz and Ranchitos Parks and the planning of the city’s Centennial Celebration.
He will continue to have some involvement with the city’s finances. The settlement states he will be involved in the “coordination and work on behalf of the City in connection with matters involving the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration.”
Lujan will provide Vigil with weekly oral reports about his work.
In March 2024, the council adopted an employment agreement for Lujan, which included the terms for severance pay if he was terminated without cause by the city. According to the settlement, these terms still apply and if he is terminated, he will receive two months of severance pay at his current pay rate, plus benefits.
Councilor response
District 4 City Councilor Samuel LeDoux attempted to stop the vote to accept the settlement by making a motion to table the matter until the following meeting. The motion tied 4-4, and Vigil cast the deciding vote to reject LeDoux’s motion.
Mayor Pro Tem Peggy Sue Martinez voted against Lujan’s settlement, and said while she agreed with parts of it, she disagreed with others.
“City Councilors are being put in a position where we either agree to this in its total, or we assume whatever liabilities come by not agreeing to this,” she said. “That’s a hell of a place to be.”
Martinez said the settlement blurs the lines between Lujan being a City employee or a contractor due to his not accruing leave and reporting directly to the mayor.
This makes her very uncomfortable, she said. “Oral reports to the mayor are not sufficient for me because it doesn’t help the Council understand where the project is or what is going on. And I think that’s something that we’ve suffered from for a long, long time.”
LeDoux also voted against the settlement and said the creation of Lujan’s position “makes no sense” and creates an “awful precedent.”
“It is going to make it so that every single time a director … doesn’t do their job, and we have to fire them, they’re going to say, ‘Well, I’m going to threaten litigation,’” LeDoux said.
District 3 City Councilor Denise Benavidez agreed with Martinez’s statements and was also concerned about the version of the settlement she received during the executive session.
“I was handed an agreement tonight that was already signed, and then I’m being told it’s not an executed agreement,” she said. “Well, it sure said on there it was an executed agreement and I refuse, refuse, to accept it. It is wrong in every way.”
May 13 resolution
The Council unanimously passed a resolution enacting a hiring freeze on May 13. It states the freeze is imposed on all open and newly created positions within all city departments. Department directors can ask for an exception, which must be approved by the city manager.
“We cannot say we have a hiring freeze and then make a hire,” Martinez said. “That’s not right. That’s incorrect.”
Other evaluations
The council and Vigil entered three other executive sessions during Tuesday’s meeting.
This included individual reviews for City Clerk Carla Martinez, Fire Chief Johnny Martinez and Police Chief Mizel Garcia.
The council took no actions after the completion of each of their evaluations.