MICHAEL KOVACS Port Aransas c i t y c o u n c i l members believe Michael Kovacs is doing a pretty good job.

In a closeddoor executive session during the city council meeting on Thursday, Dec. 21, the council evaluated Kovacs' performance over the past year. Mayor Claude Brown said the council agreed to give Kovacs a raise of $600 a month and raise his car allowance by another $200 a month.

That makes Kovacs' salary for the coming year $83,995 with a car allowance of $700 a month.

“It's a fact that he's been diligent with concerns about taxation and has done his research,” Brown said, referring to Kovacs' work to put a spotlight on rising property valuations, which result in higher property tax bills. Kovacs also pointed out to the council that the city can give property owners a homestead exemption of 20 percent instead of the previous 10 percent – a move that resulted in lower taxes in Port Aransas.

“We're all real pleased with what he's doing,” Brown said. “I think we've got a good man on board.”

Summing up Kovacs' management of city affairs, Brown said, “He inspects what he expects.”

Kovacs was hired as city manager in December 2004 at an annual salary of $75,000, replacing Kelvin Knauf, who was fired the previous October. Kovacs has bachelor's degrees in criminal justice and political science and a master's degree in public administration from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and did an internship with the Corpus Christi emergency management office.

Before coming to Port Aransas, he was town administrator of Surfside Beach, N.C., and city manager of Presidio, Texas.