(Picture by author)

11/12/2020

Island Matters received the resignation letter written by Former Fire Inspector Alexana Torres sent just before her termination.

Torres resigned from the City of South Padre Island on November 4, 2020. According to the City, Torres resigned during her termination meeting, and the City therefore proceeded with termination.

Reasons for termination on her "Corrective Action/Discipline" conclude that Torres "failed to improve in addition to violating several of the City of South Padre Island Employee Handbook Policies," being:

700.01 Standards of Performance, Behavior or Conduct
- Fire Chief Jim Pigg wrote, "The tone you take with the community" was deemed unacceptable, along with multiple complaints from the community that could not successfully contact Torres.

700.02 Attendance and Work Hours
- Working overtime without authorization and not reporting to work.
- In Torres's Hostile Work Environment letter, she explained that Chief Pigg had let her work overtime. "He told me that overtime was no longer approved, and I was advised that if I needed more time to finish projects that I could send it in as compensation (comp) time. When I started working 8-5 only, some projects started to fall behind, particularly those where Patrick McNulty's or his friends were involved. Chief Pigg called me back into his office and told me that I could take all the overtime I needed to make it work and keep the office moving."

700.18 Electronic Communications and Systems Access Use and,
- Using the city computer system during work hours for personal use.

700.18 Recording in the Workplace
- Recording co-workers without their knowledge for the past six months.

Torres sent the letter of resignation to 11 recipients (see letter). In her letter of resignation, she noted that the corruption level is so high that it conflicts with her integrity and her ability to do an effective job as an inspector of fire and life safety. She stated that existing buildings are not scheduled for inspections and "inadequately maintained," and wrote, "It's only a matter of time until an incident like the Gulfport Condo fire kills people."

Torres shared with the 11 recipients that the Mayor, Patrick McNulty, was the most prominent opponent to the South Padre Island City Council's code requirements. She added, "I understand that many code requirements are expensive in nature, but only the life safety provided by these requirements should be the concern of the jurisdiction." She wrote, "One would expect that the Mayor would lead by example, but he is the recipient of fee waivers, permit waivers, and easy inspections and plan reviews resulting in some of the most substandard occupancies on the island. Though he is not the only one."

Torres, in closing, expressed the disservice that this behavior provides to the citizens, visitors, building, and fire code officials, and most importantly, the firefighters who have to risk their lives "because of greed and corruption."

[Note: In one of our previous stories, City Staff Morale Plummets with Unresolved Ethics Complaints, an anonymous city employee reported similar situations regarding the Building and Planning Department. Although at the moment, the City no longer has a Planning Department.]