The agency plans to privatize as many as 150 jobs, and third-party contractors will decide whether to retain those employees. The housing authority employs almost 430 people total, according to its website.

Gerald Cichon, CEO of the Housing Authority of the City of El Paso, and other managers announced the plans to HACEP staff during a meeting at the organization's headquarters last month, employees said.

Cichon said only that jobs would be transferred, but acknowledged that employees would no longer be employed by the housing authority. An internal HACEP letter shows the agency plans to complete the transition by next year.

“The new property management companies will be encouraged and invited to hire most, if not all, of the current front-line property management staff and other support staff,” the letter reads. “It is certainly our hope that all affected staff will be offered and accept positions with the new companies.”

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Gerald Cichon is CEO of the El Paso Housing Authority. (Photo: RUDY GUITERREZ/EL PASO TIMES FILE PHOTO)

The agency’s workers are being offered payouts of accrued but unused paid time off, sick leave, and continuation of HACEP health and dental benefits at no cost for employees hired by new subcontractors until the end of February.

Employees whose positions are completely eliminated will be eligible for an additional one-month of bonus pay, according to an internal letter from HACEP.

Hector Montes of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, of the AFL-CIO union, said some HACEP employees who part of the union would be affected.

Montes, who learned of the plans last week, said the move could mean reduced pay or benefits for HACEP employees, even if they are ultimately re-hired by third-party employers.

"We are concerned any time public jobs are privatized," he said. "If this is happening, it should happen in the open, so the public knows." 

HACEP anticipates making a decision on which contractors to hire by August. The agency plans to begin the shift in October and complete it by Jan. 1, 2020, according to the letter.

Employees may stay with HACEP as late as Dec. 31, but the agency expects to lose some workers before then, either through layoffs or resignations. 

Cichon said that for now, only a Request For Proposal has been filed seeking private companies to take over some of the agency's work. HACEP's board of commissioners has been notified of the RFP, he said.

Cichon said the changes at HACEP may save money, but he expects customer service and management will definitely improve.

HACEP spends $1.3 billion a year rebuilding housing units, Cichon said, and many of the specifications are constantly changing.

Cichon said cooling systems, piping, landscaping and other aspects of HACEP's projects would be better managed by private companies with expertise, but he did not cite specific problems with his current workforce. 

"We believe that there are other companies that come equipped with the training and with the ability to manage those types of shifts within construction and day-to-day management," he said.

The internal HACEP letter says the agency is coordinating with Workforce Solutions Borderplex to provide resume writing assistance, interview techniques, job skill development, online job search and unemployment benefit applications.