The Donna City Council held a special meeting on Monday and voted to terminate City Manager Jorge Pena.

The council was in executive session for more than four hours, and when they returned to open session held a vote for Pena's immediate termination.

Pena held the position of city manager for a year.

Councilman Manuel Moreno spoke out against Pena's termination.

"I feel we're going back to the old ways of Donna, plain and simple," Moreno said. "So the motion has been made and everybody has to live with the decision they'll make tonight."

Councilman Ernesto Lugo Jr. said the decision was a financial one.

"It's nothing personal, but I look at the financial integrity of this city and what concerns me is there's some budget restraints already 45 days after the budget was passed, and we still have 10 months to go," Lugo said. "From a business standpoint, this is all business related."

Pena addressed the council following the termination, and said he respected the council's decision.

"I took the opportunity, because there is a lot of good, we did a lot of good," Pena said. "I learned a lot this year... I hope to leave Donna in a much better place than it was, I know financially we are, contrary to what's been said."

On Tuesday, Channel 5 News received a statement from the city of Donna that said the decision was effective immediately.

"The Donna city council will begin the search for a new city manager in the coming weeks," the news release stated. " The citizens of Donna can rest assured that city operations will continue uninterrupted. The city of Donna remains committed to providing the highest level of services to its residents, businesses and visitors."