SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio Water System President and CEO Robert Puente will get a $133,254 bonus for his performance at the city-owned utility in 2023.
SAWS Board Chairwoman Jelynne LeBlanc Jamison made the announcement Tuesday following an executive session at the monthly board meeting.
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Puente scored 88% on his board-based achievement performance scorecard.
“This level of performance is particularly noteworthy because 2023 was a challenging year. Last summer was one of the hottest in decades, which led to a record number of main breaks and unprecedented challenges on production,” Jamison said. “It also saw us make a major shift in our connect H2O, our AMI meter installation efforts, which are already on track but exceeding our installation projections. The way SAWS was able to handle those pressures with no prolonged disruptions to the community speaks volumes about where we are as an organization.”
Jamison also praised Puente for his vision of putting “the right people in the right seats on the bus. The right folks in critical executive management roles within the organization.”
Puente won’t receive his bonus until July 2025 as per the utility’s deferred compensation plan
He also received a performance bonus of $94,192 in 2022.
Puente received a 15% pay raise last June, which raised his annual salary from $516,381 to $593,838.
When Puente was appointed SAWS CEO in 2008, his salary then was $275,000. Prior to that, he served in the Texas House of Representatives.
SAWS serves 2 million people in Bexar County as well as parts of Medina and Atascosa counties.