Council canvasses election results

By BRITTANY FHOLER

Cove Leader-Press

The Copperas Cove City Council met for a special meeting Monday evening in the Technology Building to canvass the returns for the General Election and Special Election held November 8. 

The General Election was to elect City Council positions 3, 4 and 5. 

Incumbent Shawn Alzona ran unopposed for Place 3 and was declared the winner of Place 3. He received a total of 5,945 votes. 

John Hale and Edith Natividad ran for Place 4. Hale received a total of 3,567 votes, and Natividad received 2,983 votes. Hale was declared the winner of Place 4. 

Manuel “Monty” Montanez ran unopposed for Place 5 and was declared the winner for Place 5. Montanez received 5,849 votes. 

Montanez will be taking the seat of Councilmember Dianne Campbell, while Hale will take the seat of Councilmember Jay Manning.

Montanez, Hale and Alzona will take their oaths of office at the Tuesday, December 6 meeting. 

The city council also approved a resolution canvassing the returns and declaring the results of the special election, for Propositions A, which reads:

“The reduction in rate of the sales and use tax collected by the City of Copperas Cove, for purposes authorized by Chapters 501, 502 and 505 of the Texas Local Government Code, from three-eighths (3/8) of one percent to one-quarter (1/4) of one percent, and increase of a sales and use tax in Copperas Cove from a rate of one-eighth (1/8) of one percent to one-quarter (1/4) of one percent to provide revenue for maintenance and repair of the municipal streets.”

Proposition A passed with a total number of 4,885 votes in favor, and a total number of 2,49 votes against. 

This means 1/2-cent of the city’s sales tax will go to the Streets Department for roadway maintenance and repair.

In other council business, the city council reconvened from another executive session, where they had been evaluating City Manager Ryan Haverlah and following up on the evaluation. Over the last couple of city council regular meetings, Haverlah’s evaluation has been on the agenda for executive session.

Upon reconvening on Monday, council member Joann Courtland made the motion to set the city manager’s annual salary at $180,003.20, effective November 21, 2022. 

Haverlah began his employment with the city in March 2011 and has been the budget director and deputy city manager before he was hired as the city manager in 2019. 

Haverlah’s initial contract was approved by the city council on July 31, 2019, with an effective date of July 16, and the salary was for $155,000 per year through July 15, 2023. 

The city council approved a 3.25 percent pay raise and a one-year extension following their evaluation of Haverlah in November 2020. That pay raise equated to an additional $5,037.50 annually or a total of $160,037.50. 

This year’s pay raise equates to a more than 12 percent increase compared to his first pay raise in 2020 and an overall pay raise of 16.13 percent compared to his initial salary.