Pearland City Council unanimously votes to fire city manager following budget miscalculation

PEARLAND, Texas (KTRK) -- The city of Pearland city council voted unanimously to end its employment agreement with its city manager on Monday, according to a press release.

The video above is from a related story.

During a closed executive session, the city council voted six to zero on the decision to fire Clay Pearson, effective immediately.

Council members, along with city staff, will begin searching for a new city manager, but in the meantime, the city's current deputy city manger Trent Epperson will act as interim manager.

SEE RELATED STORY: City of Pearland to may hire independent auditor after a miscalculation within city's budget

Pearson started working with the city back in March of 2014.

"His leadership further continued the efforts of building a high performing organization and guided city staff during unprecedented times including Hurricane Harvey, the coronavirus pandemic, and the Texas winter freeze," the press release said in part. "During this transition, the city will continue to adhere to its strategic priorities and diligently provide city services to the community."

This comes after the city of Pearland is also looking to hire an independent auditor after an unprecedented miscalculation of their annual budget.

Kevin Cole, the mayor of Pearland, said the $1.3 billion miscalculation means a $10 million shortfall in the city budget that has already been approved. Cole said they have been working for two weeks to determine how this happened since city staff found the miscalculation.