They’re both rookies, though seasoned. They’re both viewed as workhorses. And they both just helped claw local government – for now – out of financial turmoil.
But Hollister’s head manager Clint Quilter and San Benito County’s top administrator Dan Vrtis don’t just share in having acclaimed debuts as captains of their ships. The parallels between the two are uncanny.
They took over their agencies’ lead roles at about the same time – Quilter three months ago and Vrtis two months ago. Both just led efforts to balance lean budgets. They believe keeping employees happy is a top priority. And each believes – despite a long, treacherous road ahead – that Hollister and San Benito County will solve their money problems. In due time.
All in all, the troops have gladly followed. That wasn’t the case, from some employees’ perspectives, before the two men arrived.
“Employees have a sense of comfort with Clint,” said city engineer Danny Hillstock of Quilter. “They know him. There’s hope.”
John Hodges didn’t mind Vrtis going from being his subordinate in the auditor’s office to being his boss after getting San Benito’s top job as county administrative officer.
“Instead of saying ‘No we can’t do this,’ it’s, ‘Well, let’s take a different viewpoint,'” said Hodges, who also holds the titles of clerk and recorder.
Both Quilter, 40, and Vrtis, 55, were thrust into the positions on the heels of their respective predecessors’ abrupt and largely unexplained departures.
Both came with plenty of experience in government ranks. Vrtis spent 32 years, mostly in financial roles, with counties up and down the state. Before his promotion, he served as San Benito’s finance director for three years. Quilter had been Hollister’s public works director – the department with the city’s heftiest budget – for seven years.
Former Hollister City Manager Dale Shaddox left in May after alienating an employee base that felt his plan to lay off 36 positions, a 22 percent cutting of a lean workforce, was unreasonable. Former San Benito CAO Terry May resigned and vanished one month later.
The departures came at a bad time of the year, when government officials’ lives, like accountants during tax season, revolve around putting together a balanced budget.
Quilter and Vrtis, with help from their department heads and guidance from elected officials, had large tasks to accomplish with little time and little room for error.
How’d they fare?
Mission accomplished.
Although both governments had to use savings to balance the books, they didn’t use nearly as much as previous projections conveyed. By all estimations, the books will balance in 2004-05 – $108 million worth between the two jurisdictions.
Both Quilter and Vrtis, their colleagues say, stepped up to the plate in a big way. Quilter and Vrtis, continuing a sense of gratitude they’ve shown at several public meetings, credited the employees this week for lean budgets that largely avoided cutting public services.
“The department heads were absolutely fantastic to deal with,” Vrtis said Thursday, also naming his assistants Susan Lyons and Robin Scattini, as playing major roles in the effort.
Vrtis wants to continue showing the county’s 455 employees that they’re the engine that drives the operation.
“I think our most valuable asset in this county are the employees,” Vrtis said. “They’re the ones that see the public day in and day out.”
He made that clear this week when he pushed forward an idea for an annual employee barbecue – the first of its kind for the county. When initial plans had called for employee donations to finance the get-together, Vrtis offered to donate $400 of his own money to the pot.
Supervisors, though, got behind the idea when they heard about it Tuesday and wholly funded the barbecue with county money.
Quilter’s trying to steer the same type of boat, only dealing with about 300 fewer passengers. It was Quilter’s revision to Shaddox’s original proposal that led to the council sparing 12 employees who were on the chopping block – after 20 others already had left for other jobs or early retirement.
Some whose jobs were saved wept for joy the night of the council’s approval. Since, Hollister workers have taken to Quilter as their leader – a far cry from public scorning of Shaddox during several tense meetings early this year when the worst, it seemed, was inevitable.
“I think morale is definitely on the rise,” said Hillstock, also former president of the city’s largest union, Service Employees International Union 817.
Quilter believes as long as management treats its employees fairly – even if that means layoffs, which aren’t out of the question next year – workers will understand that difficult times demand painful solutions.
Still, Quilter wants to avoid another massive layoff if he can.
“Our budget issues are not something that can be simply solved by laying people off,” Quilter said.
Neither of the leaders want to let that type of rhetoric – one of shared responsibility, and shared credit – dissipate any time soon.
That’s because they both like their jobs and want to keep them as new council members and county supervisors – with discretion to hire and fire their top dog – take office come January. So far, the prospects are looking good.
Vrtis, originally passed over for the CAO job in favor of May earlier this year, said pleasing a board with often divergent views can be challenging. But he hasn’t run across major problems with supervisors yet, he said.
“I think it’s just a matter of communication and letting them know what you’re doing and why you’re doing it,” Vrtis said.
Quilter said it being an election year hasn’t affected his decisions yet, but that it’s “certainly something I need to be aware of.” Quilter has gained a reputation for being a straight shooter, too, according to Councilman Robert Scattini.
Scattini, also a county employee as the elected marshal, commended both of the new leaders.
“Dan’s doing a damn good job. So is Clint,” Scattini said.
Supervisor Reb Monaco agreed about the CAO, along with Vrtis’ philosophy of showing appreciation toward employees.
“He really got the thing together and worked very, very diligently and very hard, along with the rest of the staff, to knock that budget out,” Monaco said.
Hollister Mayor Tony Bruscia called the city “very fortunate” to have Quilter on board because he brings a historical knowledge of the town – and qualities of a strong leader.
He also likes Quilter’s optimism about the city’s future.
“The truth is, it’s not the end of the world,” Bruscia said. “Things are challenging. They’re not terrible. There’s a difference.”
