Is That All There Is?
Is That All There Is?
Joe Lessard Leaving City Post
BY KAYTE VANSCOY, FRI., JULY 31, 1998 Assistant City Manager Joe Lessard photograph by John Anderson
The rumors started over a year ago, but it should come as no surprise to those familiar with the protracted pace of city government that it took this long to hear that Assistant City Manager Joe Lessard would be leaving his post at the city of Austin. Last June, when the then-new City Council took a retreat with upper-level city staff, the scuttlebutt held that Lessard's departure was almost imminent, particularly given his noticeable absence from the retreat. "Oct. 1, 1997," was the date most people predicted Lessard would walk. Yet, when asked last year about this alleged impending doom, Lessard laughed it off, explaining that he had his sights set on advancing to the city manager's post one day. Besides, he added at the time, "the city of Austin is as good as it gets." In reality, Lessard's duties were reassigned last June, moving him from oversight of the police, fire, emergency medical services, and aviation departments to focusing solely on the completion of the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. City Manager Jesus Garza framed Lessard's job transition as a necessity because the completion of the airport would require his sole focus. After all, Garza explained, the $700 million project was clearly the largest and costliest undertaking in the city's history. (Garza did not return phone calls for this article.)
One clue that permanent changes in Lessard's career were afoot last year was that his $103,471 annual salary was changed from being paid out of the city's general fund, like the rest of the assistant city managers, to being paid out of the Aviation Department budget. The switch cleared the way for a new ACM, Toby Futrell, to be paid out of the general fund. Futrell also took over Lessard's office at City Hall, while Lessard was shuttled off to new quarters at the airport. Although no one
Joe Lessard Leaving City Post
BY KAYTE VANSCOY, FRI., JULY 31, 1998 Assistant City Manager Joe Lessard photograph by John Anderson
The rumors started over a year ago, but it should come as no surprise to those familiar with the protracted pace of city government that it took this long to hear that Assistant City Manager Joe Lessard would be leaving his post at the city of Austin. Last June, when the then-new City Council took a retreat with upper-level city staff, the scuttlebutt held that Lessard's departure was almost imminent, particularly given his noticeable absence from the retreat. "Oct. 1, 1997," was the date most people predicted Lessard would walk. Yet, when asked last year about this alleged impending doom, Lessard laughed it off, explaining that he had his sights set on advancing to the city manager's post one day. Besides, he added at the time, "the city of Austin is as good as it gets." In reality, Lessard's duties were reassigned last June, moving him from oversight of the police, fire, emergency medical services, and aviation departments to focusing solely on the completion of the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. City Manager Jesus Garza framed Lessard's job transition as a necessity because the completion of the airport would require his sole focus. After all, Garza explained, the $700 million project was clearly the largest and costliest undertaking in the city's history. (Garza did not return phone calls for this article.)
One clue that permanent changes in Lessard's career were afoot last year was that his $103,471 annual salary was changed from being paid out of the city's general fund, like the rest of the assistant city managers, to being paid out of the Aviation Department budget. The switch cleared the way for a new ACM, Toby Futrell, to be paid out of the general fund. Futrell also took over Lessard's office at City Hall, while Lessard was shuttled off to new quarters at the airport. Although no one