As City Council members head into a closed-door meeting tonight
to consider hiring an interim replacement for City Manager Dale
Shaddox, it remains unclear whether they plan to hire from within
the city or recruit from outside.
As City Council members head into a closed-door meeting tonight to consider hiring an interim replacement for City Manager Dale Shaddox, it remains unclear whether they plan to hire from within the city or recruit from outside.
Shaddox abruptly announced his retirement April 12 – leaving Hollister without an administrative general and sending Council members scurrying to replace the well-respected, but short-lived, leader. Shaddox, who arrived 11 months ago, will work his last day May 11.
Tonight, the Council will consider whether to hire a current city employee or search outside the ranks, or whether to hire an interim manager at all, according to Mayor Tony Bruscia. The decision is urgent, officials say, as the city faces continued budget shortfalls and an ongoing uphill battle to fix its sewer treatment.
If the Council hires an interim manager from within Hollister this time, the crop of likely candidates would be limited. Three department heads – the fire chief, finance director and head planner – are being laid off June 30.
That would leave Public Works Director Clint Quilter, Management Services Director Clay Lee and Police Chief Jeff Miller as three department heads who, by historic standards, could take the reigns.
Lee said he’s not interested. He runs human resources and recreation operations, and said “I’ve got my hands full” with those responsibilities.
“Nope, there are too many irons in the fire right now for me,” said Lee, who added he wants to have time for his personal life.
Quilter, asked whether he has interest in an interim city manager job, hesitated, but said he has “no real interest, not really.”
“I think the Council needs to just do whatever they need to do,” Quilter said.
And Miller, who was out of the office Monday and could not be reached, only recently entered the Hollister chain of command. He started as police chief in September.
Council members weren’t tipping their hands as to whether they’re considering candidates from within or outside current city ranks.
“We’re leaving no stone unturned,” Councilman Tony LoBue said.
He went on: “If someone is applying from within, then we need to keep it under our hats.”
Council members also declined to comment on specifics, namely who’s under consideration for the interim city manager role.
But one thing’s for sure, Bruscia said.
“We’re certainly not prepared to hire a permanent city manager,” Bruscia said.
The process of searching for a city manager is involved and usually takes several weeks, if not months. Though vague about the process, Council members were open about the urgency of hiring a new manager. Councilman Robert Scattini said he hopes to have someone onboard before Shaddox departs May 11. LoBue said he wants a manager working before the end of May.
The 7:30 p.m. meeting will take place in closed session – which means it’s not open to the public – because the city manager decision is a personnel matter. If the Council makes a decision, however, it must be publicly reported afterward.
When former City Manager George Lewis retired in January 2003, the Council hired Ed Kreins – a retired manager of several cities – as an interim manager. By recruiting through the League of California Cities, though, the recruiting period lasted only a few weeks.
Shaddox on Monday, citing the confidentiality of the hiring process, limited his comments about tonight’s meeting.
“We’re going to let (Council members) know all their options,” he said, but beyond that he declined to comment.
