On Jan. 31, interim County Administrative Officer Gil Solorio
will be resigning from his position for the second time in twelve
months, and the county will get its fourth CAO in the same time
span.
Hollister – On Jan. 31, interim County Administrative Officer Gil Solorio will be resigning from his position for the second time in twelve months, and the county will get its fourth CAO in the same time span.
Until a new CAO is hired, the position will be filled by Susan Lyons, a management analyst with the county, according to Board Chairman Reb Monaco.
“We knew for quite some time that we were going to have to hire an acting CAO to replace (Solorio),” said Dist. 2 Supervisor Anthony Botelho. “He had had a plan just to stay on a few months, and he knew even before the new board came on that he would leave after the first of the year. We tried to convince him to stay, but he wouldn’t do it.”
Solorio was the San Benito County CAO for three years before resigning last January. He was brought back on board in September after a dispute with Supervisor Bob Cruz caused CAO Terrence May to leave. May was replaced by Dan Vrtis, who left three months later when the board voted in closed session to ask for his resignation. Vrtis said he had been given no explanation for the board’s decision.
Since then, Solorio has been interim CAO on a month-to-month basis until the county could find a suitable replacement. Neither Solorio or Lyons could be reached for comment Wednesday evening.
“It’s very important that we work the process to find the best candidate,” Dist. 1 Supervisor Don Marcus said Wednesday.
The board voted on Nov. 9 to allocate $30,000 for professional help in the search for a new CAO. The position is being advertised through the California State Association of Counties, and brochures have been sent out to potential candidates, Human Resources Director Liz Brown told the board Tuesday. Brown also told the board a suitable candidate would hopefully be hired by the beginning of May, but Monaco said Wednesday that may no longer be the case.
“We may find that we are going to be in a position of having to extend that date and fill it a little later than May,” he said.
Marcus said the extended process was to ensure San Benito County gets the best candidates possible, and also to maintain consistency while the board works on the budget.
“We felt it was important that Susan Lyons works together with us on the whole budget process, which usually goes through the summer months,” Marcus said. “Also we won’t have to worry about employees of other counties being drawn away from the application process because they’re busy working on their budgets.”
The board voted in closed session Tuesday afternoon to appoint Lyons acting CAO. Solorio will be staying on one extra day to walk Lyons through the board’s Feb. 1 meeting. Lyons is not a candidate for permanent CAO, Botelho said, and will keep the position only until someone new is found.
Jessica Quandt covers politics for the Free Lance. Reach her at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or at jq*****@fr***********.com.
