Officials consider options such as reorganization
With former City Engineer Steve Wittry moving over to the public
works department-head role in the county, Hollister officials felt
they needed some help in the short term to conduct some of his
prior duties.
Officials consider options such as reorganization
With former City Engineer Steve Wittry moving over to the public works department-head role in the county, Hollister officials felt they needed some help in the short term to conduct some of his prior duties.
Council members Monday approved the hiring of an interim city engineer at an estimated cost of $3,500 per month, an amount officials contend is about half the cost of employing Wittry when he was with the city, according to a council staff report.
Council members hired Clifford Swanson, who has more than 40 years of experience, most recently as director of engineering for the City of Chula Vista. He has held city engineer and city manager positions in other California cities as well.
Swanson could be on the job around “four months, give or take,” City Manager Clint Quilter told the Pinnacle. He said that interim period might be shorter or longer, depending on potential recruitment and also whether officials find a way to “reorganize,” also a possibility.
Quilter said officials expect to examine “work that needs to be done versus money available versus resources we have in house” during what he called an assessment period for the position that borders on having department head-level authority as the day-to-day overseer of engineering activities.
“I don’t know if we have it on hold, but we’re working on the best thing for the organization,” Quilter said.
The city manager explained the engineer official’s role as encompassing such duties as overseeing all engineering activities, any development reviews, capital projects, encroachment permits and traffic matters in the Community Services Department.
Quilter also noted that the contract with Swanson includes a provision saying the city must give him a 10-day notice before letting him go.
