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In hopes of widening the pool of candidates willing to apply for the city manager position following Don Reynolds’ retirement at the end of last year, the San Juan City Council voted at its Feb. 18 meeting to increase the job’s salary to a more competitive rate.
Under the guidelines suggested by the Regional Government Services Agency, which has been hired to recruit candidates for the position, the city manager’s starting salary would be $160,000, with the possibility of increasing to $180,000 over time.
According to OpenPayrolls, Reynolds was paid $138,089 as city manager, including benefits, in 2020. Under the terms of her contract, Interim City Manager Ashley Collick is paid $14,882.40 monthly and is exempt from overtime. Her employment is classified as temporary and can be terminated with 30 days’ notice.
According to Regional Government Services Agency Senior Advisor Richard Blut, the last revision to the job description and salary level came in 2006. Since then, the city manager’s duties and responsibilities have “greatly expanded in scope,” requiring a pay increase to make the job more attractive to prospective candidates.
“We did a salary review using nine different agencies,” he said. “Not only did we look at the city manager position, we also looked at assistant city managers and evaluated department heads. And we aligned that with the salary we are proposing.”
Blut said he encouraged the council to raise the lower-end salary even higher than his recommended amount based on similar positions in the area. . The suggested top monthly salary would place the San Juan city manager on par with the city manager of Del Rey Oaks, the lowest salary of the cities surveyed.
Comparisons
- Gilroy city administrator: $315,250
- Salinas city manager: $299,999
- Marina city manager: $259,417
- Hollister city manager: $258,923
- Seaside city manager: $240,000
- Soledad city manager: $230,000
- King City city manager: $219,797
- Del Rey Oaks city manager: $180,003
- San Juan Bautista city manager: $180,003
San Juan Councilmember Scott Freels suggested the upper end could be adjusted to $210,000 or $215,000, saying, “That way, there is progress room, and it gives us time to budget for any pay increases in the future.”
Councilmember Jackie Morris-Lopez said that considering the complexity of the job as it currently stands, she was amenable to a higher rate based on a reevaluation of outside consulting fees.
“That would loosen up some funds,” she said, “to perhaps put into the pot for a higher salary figure. The job description has a lot of meat in it but if we are paying a lot in consulting fees, it doesn’t make sense.”
Mayor Leslie Jordan offered an amendment to the proposal, raising the top salary to $215,000. Seconded by councilmember Jose Aranda, the motion passed 4-0 with council member E. J. Sabathia absent.
Town hall on fire protection plan
During his monthly report to the council, Public Safety Coordinator Roy Morales said the city of Hollister had signed the request for a proposed study for the creation of a fire protection and life safety services special district in the county.
San Juan, under former city manager Reynolds, was the lead agency in creating the proposal, which is intended to determine the costs and service benefits of a special district to San Juan, Hollister and San Benito County.
The agreement is necessary as a first step to resolving the proportion of expenses for fire services paid by the three government agencies following demands from the city of Hollister—which has provided fire services to San Juan since 2013—that all parties pay a fair share. Agreement on the study is pending approval by the San Benito County Board of Supervisors.
“For most of the fire issues,” Morales said, “I will be completely honest: we are waiting on the county. It has been very concerning that there has been no communication with the county or the city of Hollister on the fire contract.”
At the Jan. 21 city council meeting, Morales proposed holding a town hall on fire protection services, saying he thought that many residents were concerned about, or did not understand, the status of local fire services. Following his suggestion, the city agreed to host the meeting, which will take place on Feb. 22 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the San Juan School Gym.
Following the city of Hollister’s decision to move forward with plans for a motorcycle rally over the July 4 weekend, Morales said he had asked the Sheriff’s Department for an additional deputy to help with security for any overflow from the rally, but it was denied. Aranda asked Morales to check with the California Highway Patrol to see if they could offer assistance.
Freels said that while trying to be diplomatic, he was concerned that the Hollister City Council “never consulted anybody about this rally, and we are going to be greatly impacted.”
“They are pushing this through way too fast,” he said. “A thing like this should be planned a year out. There are going to be a lot of people here, and I am concerned about it. We will keep our fingers crossed and hope everything goes OK, but this was a very selfish move.”
Jordan asked Morales if San Juan could get assistance from the Monterey County Sheriff’s Department. Morales said the request would have to come from the San Benito Sheriff’s Department. Aranada asked if it would help to close Third Street that day if the city could not obtain the necessary law enforcement resources. Morales said he would look into it.
The following street closures for upcoming events were also approved during the meeting:
Arts & Craft Festival
March 28, from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Closure of Mariposa Street between Second and Third Street
March 29, from 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. and March 30, from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Closure of Third Street from Franklin to Muckelemi and Washington, Mariposa and Polk Street between Second and Fourth Street
The Great San Juan Bautista Rib Cook-Off
April 25-27 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Closure of Third Street from Franklin to Muckelemi and Washington, Mariposa and Polk Street between Second and Fourth Streets
The Feb. 18 San Juan Bautista City Council Meeting is available on YouTube, and the agenda has been posted on the city’s website.
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