San Juan Bautista City Manager Steve Julian has resigned from
his job, but he does not intend to do anymore work in the role
while noting his last official date of employment as June 30. While
working as an independent contractor, he made $10,000 per month
– with no payroll taxes or Social Security deducted from his
compensation – while creating his own schedule and failing to post
his specific hours as required in the deal. There also is a
provision allowing him to miss 30 straight days of work and still
get paid.
San Juan Bautista City Manager Steve Julian has resigned from his job, but he does not intend to do anymore work in the role while noting his last official date of employment as June 30.
Julian had been working at the city for nearly three years. San Juan Bautista removed his interim title July 1 of last year, but through Wednesday he had continued working as an independent contractor as opposed to a full-time employee.
He made $10,000 per month – with no payroll taxes or Social Security deducted from his compensation – while creating his own schedule and failing to post his specific hours as required in the deal, according to his agreement along with a separate document revealing his reporting on hours had been incomplete.
That deal made last year when Julian’s interim title was removed includes provisions requiring that the San Juan council – if it had decided to terminate the city manager – must give him 30 days notice while allowing him to “cure” any reasons for the firing during that time frame. The agreement includes a provision stating he can miss up to 30 consecutive days of work for any reason and still get paid for the time absent.
The council at a special meeting Wednesday night gathered in closed session to discuss his possible dismissal, for unclear reasons, but took no action. Julian in his resignation to the city, announced Thursday in a statement from Mayor Andy Moore, noted how he “will be away from the City and unavailable for performance of services effective immediately through the effective date of his resignation.”
The San Juan council will meet to discuss plans for his replacement at the “earliest possible date,” according to the statement.
The city’s contract – reviewed by the Free Lance through a public records request submitted May 19 – is officially with the city manager’s private business, The Julian Company LLC. It is based out of Coalinga where Julian lives and previously worked as city manager.
The two-year contract, which started July 1, 2010, notes how Julian created his own schedule and did not have to meet any minimum number of hours worked in a given time frame.
Retired initially in 1996 from prior city manager work, his contract in San Juan calls for $10,000 per month with no other benefits. It also stipulates the termination protocol, which includes a clause that allows him to “cure” any issues.
During the first year of the latest contract, which runs through June, the “cure” clause allows Julian to fix a “breach of his contract” within the 30-day notice, according to the agreement. If a declared mistake is fixed to a “satisfactory” level, the termination can’t occur. There is no definition in the contract for “satisfactory.”
After the first 12 months have passed, the contract would not require the city to give a reason for termination, but it would require a 30-day notice. Julian also has the provision in the agreement that states he can miss the 30 consecutive days of work and still be paid through that period – if he is unavailable “due to illness or any other cause,” according to the agreement.
Though it appears he won’t be working for the city anymore, he had been allowed to create his schedule. The contract stipulates that Julian must have regular hours and that they must be placed – on the first business day of the month – in a “conspicuous place at city hall” for visitors to see them.
As of Wednesday, Julian’s monthly hours were listed on the front desk in city hall, underneath a plastic sheet. That description available to the public was a small piece of paper labeled “February” that noted he was on duty Monday to Thursday. It included no specification of hours worked, but mentioned how Julian was available for “appointments with the public” Wednesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Deputy City Clerk Trish Paetz said the schedule noting “February” applied to all other months after that point.
In addition, no payroll taxes or Social Security have been taken out of Julian’s paychecks because he is considered an independent contractor, according to the document.
“City shall make no deduction for payroll taxes or social security from amount due to the contractor,” according to the document.
Before Julian was hired in 2008 as the city manager in San Juan Bautista, he held similar positions throughout the state. He retired in 1996, but returned to work afterward to become the city manager at three other cities – Mammoth Lakes, Dana Point and Coalinga.
Most recently he was city manager in Coalinga, where he was fired after a dispute with the council.
Following his departure from Coalinga, he filed a $1.8 million claim against that city and reached a settlement for $225,000 according to the Fresno Bee.
At another prior city manager job in San Juan Capistrano where he had worked for 11 years, that city council there fired him in 1992 following a legal dispute – alleging misuse of funds – which was eventually dismissed, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The L.A. Times reported that the city in 1982 had lent Julian a $250,000 home loan while allowing him to borrow cash against accrued vacation and sick leave. The L.A. Times also reported that in 1990, the city had renegotiated his agreement to stipulate he “could be excused from some personal debts that he owes the city if he is terminated for anything other than misconduct.”
Mayor Andy Moore did not return calls following the meeting. Julian could not be reached immediately for comment. And City Attorney George Thatcher was out of his office Thursday.
