The San Juan Bautista City Council has removed the interim title from City Manager Roger Grimsley, extending the contract of the former engineer and longtime government worker who came out of retirement last summer to fill a leadership void created when Stephen Julian resigned in May.
“Because the interim classification put a restriction on me to sign various documents, the council elected to appoint me as permanent city manager,” said Grimsley, 71, whose previous experience includes time as Hollister’s city manager and director of public works and planning. “That’s fine with me. I serve at the will of the city council and I’m here to help them.”
Grimsley had been retired for four years from the Hollister engineering firm he and his wife ran when he was asked by San Juan City Council members to apply for the interim job last summer. He eventually was appointed and accepted a $5,000-per-month contract that includes no benefits, including vacation or sick leave.
His predecessor, Julian, was paid $10,000 per month with no benefits before he resigned.
With Grimsley’s change to permanent status his salary will remain the same; the only change will be that the city will compensate him for mileage when he is conducting city business.
San Juan Mayor Jolene Cosio said the city council has been “very happy” with the job Grimsley has done during his time as city manager.
“Initially, we did not think he’d want to stay beyond six to nine months but he likes doing the job, we like the job he’s doing, and he’s saving the city an incredible amount of money by undertaking a lot of things city managers wouldn’t do in larger cities.”
Grimsley’s newly-permanent status adds the title of city engineer to his job description, a move that will provide greater oversight over the contract engineers that work for the city, Cosio said.
“We’ll still contract with other engineers, but now they have to report to him before they make purchases,” she said. “He makes sure they receive three bids on projects. Prior to this a (contract) city engineer would say ‘you need this’ and we’d do it. Roger will now be able to look at bids.”
Both Grimsley and Cosio said his job tenure has no timeframe attached to it.
“I plan to stay as long as they want me,” Grimsley said.
Cosio said she and other council members, particularly the three who came to office in 2010, are “hoping he’ll be here until the end of our four-year terms or at least close to it.”
“He enjoys helping the city out,” she said. “In a lot of ways, he’s interested in saving the city money. He’s working for a salary that he’s comfortable with and the city can afford.”
