City of Eagle Pass Taxpayers Pay Severance Monies to International Bridge System Director Who “Voluntarily Resigned”
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2025
The City of Eagle Pass, Texas under the leadership of City Manager Homero Balderas announced that it had agreed to pay severance monies to outgoing City International Bridge System Director David R. Saucedo who “voluntarily resigned” from his post on Friday, September 12, 2025, according to a press release issued by the City of Eagle Pass Public Relations Coordinator Valeria Flores.
The City of Eagle Pass press release states that it has “received several questions regarding several topics” such as the resignation of International Bridge System Director David R. Saucedo. “To help provide clarity and ease concerns, please find below a general overview of the matters at hand,” added the City Press Release.
Concerning the International Bridge System Director’s resignation, the City Press Release states the following:
- The effective date of resignation was Friday, [September 12, 2025];
- No interim or acting Director has been appointed at this time;
- The resignation was voluntary. A severance payment was provided, and a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) applies;
- There are no operational impacts to Bridge operations, staffing, safety, or revenue;
- There is currently no timeline or process to share regarding the naming of a permanent replacement;
- No performance, compliance, or audit findings are relevant to this change.
Neither the City of Eagle Pass City Manager Homero Balderas nor former International Bridge System Director David R. Saucedo have provided any public statements regarding the reasons for Saucedo’s “voluntary resignation” nor the terms and conditions of the “non-disclosure agreement,” raising many questions and concerns among Eagle Pass taxpayers why would the City have to pay “severance” monies from City funds (Bridge System) for an employee who “voluntarily” resigned from his employment position. Generally, an employee who voluntarily resigns provides “notice’ to his employer of their resignation and moves on after the period of notice required, usually two weeks or one month.
The International Bridge System Director position is a key post within the City of Eagle Pass as the City relies on the Bridge System revenues to finance up to 50% of its annual fiscal budget, providing for critical city services to taxpayers and maintaining the ad valorem tax rate low.
Saucedo was hired as the International Bridge System Director on January 7, 2025 by City Manager Homero Balderas, who previously was the Bridge Director before being hired as City Manager, after former Bridge Director Ronnie Rivera resigned on November 29, 2024 to accept employment as Branch Manager of Border Federal Credit Union’s new branch on El Indio Highway.
Although the Eagle Pass International Bridge System has its own Board of Trustees, the City Manager under Homero Balderas’ leadership is responsible for the hiring and firing of the International Bridge System Director. Upon appointing Saucedo as the City International Bridge System Director on January 7, 2025, City Manager Balderas stated that Saucedo had been selected as “the best qualified person” for the position after many individuals had applied and been interviewed. Thus, Saucedo’s “voluntary resignation” stunned City taxpayers and political observers as it came at the most critical moment when the City Council was about to award the design contract for the Camino Real International Bridge expansion project.
At the September 9, 2025 City Council meeting, Mayor Aaron Valdez, Councilwoman Jessica Rey Ramon, and Councilman Elias Diaz initially moved to reject the awarding of the design contract to LJA and have it rebid, except Mayor Pro-Tem William Davis persuaded them to “table” the agenda item rather than reject it. Councilman Mario E. Garcia favored the awarding of the design contract to LJA at the September 9th meeting and opposed the tabling of the agenda item.
Three days later on September 12th, City Manager Balderas announced Saucedo had “voluntarily resigned” as Bridge System Director, raising a tsunami of citizens complaints regarding the City’s lack of leadership stability and continuity. Taxpayers want to know how much did the City agreed to pay Saucedo as severance pay and why did he resign.
After four days of Saucedo’s “voluntary resignation,” the City Council finally awarded the design contract for the expansion project of Camino Real International Bridge to LJA amid citizens complaints raised at the Citizens Communications public comments agenda by Armando Sanchez and Tom Cary of The Border Organization at the September 16, 2025 meeting
In his short eight months tenure as International Bridge System Director, Saucedo took the reins of the City of Eagle Pass’s most prized and valuable asset in the midst of a pending Presidential Permit Amendment Application to expand the Camino Real International Bridge from six to 12 lanes. Saucedo and the City Presidential Permit consultants, LJA, managed the City’s Presidential Permit Amendment Application successfully with President Donald J. Trump awarding the permit to the City of Eagle Pass on May 24, 2025.
Since the City of Eagle Pass commenced with the expansion project of the Camino Real International Bridge, the estimated costs to design and construct the project has ballooned from $20 million to $45-50 million plus another $23 million for the costs of realigning the roadways leading to the expanded Camino Real International Bridge, totaling between $68-73 million. And now City Manager Balderas has obligated City taxpayers to have to pay an undisclosed amount of severance monies to International Bridge System Director David R. Saucedo for “voluntarily resigning” from his position and agreeing to a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).
Furthermore, the City Council has approved to increase the international bridge toll fare for motor vehicles from $4 per vehicle to $5 for Express Card users and $6 for those who pay in cash, commencing in October 2025 after two additional readings required. The new toll bridge fare increase would make the Eagle Pass International Bridge System the most expensive among the Texas-Mexico international bridges.
