County supervisors agreed Tuesday to hire interim County Administrative Officer Ray Espinosa as the permanent CAO, despite concerns from one of the board members about the official’s lack of college credentials.
Supervisors voted 4-1 on Tuesday and agreed to terms on a contract with Espinosa, who has been serving as interim CAO for the past year, since succeeding former CAO Rich Inman.
At the core of the debate among supervisors on whether to hire Espinosa as the permanent CAO has been his college credentials. Supervisor Robert Rivas, who had the lone dissenting vote, has underscored his concerns about Espinosa lacking a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution. He was out-voted Tuesday, though, while supervisors did agree to include a provision in Espinosa’s contract – initially for two years with annual rollover options – which would encourage him to pursue further education.
Espinosa, who went from being the information technology manager making around $87,000 annually to interim CAO a year ago, will start at “step A” for the CAO position with an annual salary of $149,640.
Espinosa after the vote likened his first year in the role to “fast and the furious” with so many issues to address such as the city-county fire consolidation and a plethora of budget matters.
“It’s really been an honor and a privilege to serve in this capacity,” said Espinosa, who told board members he has an associate’s degree and plans to pursue further education.
Supervisor Anthony Botelho mentioned how there have been five CAOs in his nine years as supervisor. He said they were all college educated and highly experienced, admired people.
“The last year that I’ve served on this board, I have never felt we’ve accomplished more,” Botelho said.
