Hollister City Council rescinds fiscal emergency, calls back employees

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Reversing course after an hours-long public outcry at a raucous meeting, the Hollister City Council on Oct. 19 unanimously agreed to retract its fiscal emergency declaration and asked dozens of laid-off city employees on paid leave to return to work even as city officials move to negotiate with employee unions.

The employees are still under a 30-day work termination notice issued by the city on Oct. 14, which cited years-long fiscal deficits as the rationale for more than three dozen layoffs.

Meanwhile, embattled City Manager Ana Cortez failed to return to the council chambers following closed session after absorbing heavy public criticism, calling into question her future with the city.

The council’s decision was taken after more than 30 public speakers, including employees under termination notices, called for the council to rescind the termination notices and fire Cortez.

The city manager has already been subject to two votes of no confidence by the two main city employee unions: the Police Officers Association and SEIU 521. 

Rescinding the emergency declaration and asking employees to return to work were added by the council to the agenda as emergency items following closed session.

While employees are expected to return to work in the days following the meeting, it appears Cortez is on her way out.

Hollister Mayor Roxanne Stephens said following the closed session that the council was scheduling a special meeting for Oct. 21 to “finalize some decisions that we preliminarily made tonight.”

“Because of the process of the agendas and doing other things we need a couple more days to do that,” Stephens said at the meeting.

The agenda for the Oct. 21 meeting contains a “public employee discipline/dismissal/release” item in closed session.

Asked by BenitoLink why Cortez did not return to the chamber following the closed session, Stephens said she could not comment because it was a personnel issue. 

She also clarified the work termination notices remain in effect as city officials work with union representatives on reducing expenses, which may still include job cuts. 

Four hours were not enough for the council to discuss all the items on the agenda, largely due to extensive public comment. The council instead postponed the majority of the scheduled agenda items to the Oct. 21 meeting, including consideration of sending a letter to Sunnyslope County Water District to request assistance in running the city’s water department through the end of the fiscal year. The council was also set to receive financial presentations on multiple funds. 

All but one out of dozens of speakers said they were unhappy with Cortez as city manager; her lone supporter praised her work in permitting and billing.

Most of those who spoke were critical, questioning Cortez’s decision to file employee layoff notices and alleging she did not work with department heads to understand the positions she cut.

Laid-off city employee Summer Garcia said she was one of the more than three dozen employees who received the notices. Garcia said she served the city for 10 years, including the last five as a utility supervisor, adding that she was the only remaining employee with certain state certifications to oversee the water, sewer and stormwater systems. 

“I’ve also never been asked to identify potential cost-saving measures within our utilities department that might help address the city’s budget deficit while preserving essential services and employee positions,” Garcia said.

One speaker called for the council, which unanimously hired Cortez in January, to fire her for cause, which would make her ineligible to receive a severance worth half of her $265,000 annual salary, according to her employment contract.

“The reason, for cause, that she needs to go is her willful disregard,” the speaker said. “If a manager mocks employees in a way that violates decorum harassment policies they need to be terminated.” 

Other speakers questioned the council’s decision to hire Cortez and its ability to understand the city’s finances. 

JW Paine, chairman of the San Benito County Republican Party, called Cortez a “union buster.”

“It’s her MO,” he told the council, referencing two instances in which Cortez resigned from previous positions following investigations into her managerial style and alleged wrongful terminations. “Did you know that was her MO, that she’s a union buster? Google is pretty easy and even a dumb redneck like me did it.”

Other speakers referenced the cost overrun of the city’s motorcycle rallies as an example of how the council is not fiscally responsible.

“I became absolutely, acutely aware of the idea that you have no comprehension of budget finance plans, how to operate a business, nothing,” one public speaker said.

With more than 90 minutes dedicated to public comments, the environment turned heated at times. 

When it was former Mayor Mia Casey’s time to speak, Councilmember Rolan Resendiz lifted a paper that read “You bankrupted us. It’s on video!!!”

That sparked Casey’s husband, Jonathan Casey, to stand up and walk toward Resendiz while telling him to put down the sign. After briefly standing in front of Resendiz, Casey walked back to his seat. Casey is running for city treasurer in the Nov. 3 election.

Mia Casey then said that she should change her speech to talk about a “police report,” an apparent reference to documents released by the city about Resendiz in which he was the subject of a sexual battery probe.

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