City accepting applications, but may not conduct candidate
interviews
Two weeks after the resignation of City Manager Steve Julian,
who is no longer working for the city but is receiving pay through
the end of June, San Juan Bautista is looking to quickly hire an
interim replacement
– perhaps without conducting an in-person interview.
City accepting applications, but may not conduct candidate interviews
Two weeks after the resignation of City Manager Steve Julian, who is no longer working for the city but is receiving pay through the end of June, San Juan Bautista is looking to quickly hire an interim replacement – perhaps without conducting an in-person interview.
A job announcement was expected to be posted on the city’s website and around town this week, according to City Clerk Trish Paetz, who said City Council members have already been receiving letters of interest and resumes from potential candidates.
“We’ll deal with it Thursday the 16th as a closed-session item,” she said. “We’ll be asking for a cover letter and a resume, and the council will make its selection off of that. They won’t be interviewing the candidates; we just want to get moving on this.”
The pay for the position is listed as “negotiable and depending on qualifications” and no work hours will be listed for the exempt position.
The job description seeks candidates “that possess a history of exceptional communication skills including accessibility and cooperative leadership ability” under “general supervision” of the city council. The interim manager, the description notes, “will be expected to be involved in initiating and maintaining active relationships with both regular and contract employees and the City Council.”
Applications are due by noon on June 15, with council members reviewing them during the non-public portion of their meeting the next day, at which time they will “consider making a selection,” apparently without interviewing any candidates.
Julian was making $10,000 per month at the time of his resignation, which came after the council held a special meeting May 25 to consider in closed session his possible dismissal. Having worked for the city for three years, Julian created his own schedule while working as an independent contractor, with no payroll taxes or Social Security deducted from his compensation.
When Julian’s interim title was removed last summer, his new contract said that if the council decided to fire him, it must give him 30 days notice while allowing him to “cure” any reasons for the firing during that time. The agreement also included a provision stating Julian could miss up to 30 consecutive days of work for any reason and still get paid, which is happening now.
San Juan Mayor Andy Moore confirmed that the council wants to move quickly to fill the vacant city manager’s position.
“We want to move on it,” he said. “The thought of the council was to have someone hold the job on an interim basis for three to six months so we can get somebody who has knowledge to help out and keep us going. The goal of the council is to get somebody permanent eventually.”
Moore said his preference is to have a city manager who is on duty Monday through Friday, to better serve the public. He noted that the city is also in the process of hiring two public works maintenance workers that will do various repair and infrastructure operation duties. The salaries of those positions, which are currently contracted out, range from approximately $2,600 per month to $3,640 per month.
Before Julian was hired as interim city manager in 2008, he held similar positions around the state. He retired in 1996, but later worked as city manager of Mammoth Lakes, Dana Point and Coalinga, where he still lives. Following his departure from Coalinga, from which he was fired after a dispute with the council, he filed a $1.8 million claim against the city and later reached a settlement for $225,000.
Julian was also fired from his city manager’s job in San Juan Capistrano after an alleged misuse of funds – a charge that was eventually dismissed, according to the Los Angeles Times.
