City Manager Dale Shaddox’s resignation Monday left City Council
members and some city officials stunned, some happy and others some
sad. All opinions aside, the city of Hollister still has a key
staff position to fill and no idea who to fill it with.
City Manager Dale Shaddox’s resignation Monday left City Council members and some city officials stunned, some happy and others some sad. All opinions aside, the city of Hollister still has a key staff position to fill and no idea who to fill it with.
“This is just another hurdle we’ll have to overcome,” Mayor Tony Bruscia said. “We don’t have any decision right now as to how we’ll fill the position.”
In closed session at the next meeting, April 19, the council will discuss how to go about replacing Shaddox, who will officially clean out his office May 11, according to Bruscia. Whether the council will bring in an interim city manager or hire someone new is up in the air.
Nonetheless, news of the city manager’s departure surprised other staff members like Chief of Police Jeff Miller who said Shaddox had made a big impact on the city during his short tenure.
“I’m personally saddened that he is leaving, and I’m saddened for the city,” he said. “I think he always had the best interests of the city in his heart.”
However, Shaddox was not popular across the board, especially following city budget cuts resulting in the layoff of 36 employees.
John Vellardita, executive director of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which represents 80 percent of the workers on the layoff list, said Shaddox’s leaving is good for the city.
“I don’t think he would have been hired if the city asked him in the beginning ‘do you plan on only working for a year?'” he said. “What we have is a city that is at a fiscal crossroads right now, and the point person, Shaddox, implemented an enhanced retirement plan, and then he decides to become one of the people who takes it.”
Shaddox, 52, said his decision to resign was personal. He didn’t feel comfortable keeping his job when he was telling 36 others that they were about to lose theirs.
To help ease the budget, and try to cut the number of pink slips, Shaddox offered eligible workers the option of a separation incentive program. If the candidate was older than 50 and had participated in the state retirement system five years, they were encouraged to retire with a monthly payment based on their income. The city would also save 100 percent of the money spent on the employee’s benefits, Shaddox said.
“This is quite a benefit to the city,” Shaddox said. “We’re hoping the city can continue to offer this incentive to people since more layoffs are most likely in the future.”
Twelve of the 36 people on the layoff list chose to take the incentive, which has also been called an early retirement plan, but Fire Chief Bill Garringer, who is on the list, said he would have taken back his filed paperwork before the deadline if he knew Shaddox was going to resign. He believes with Shaddox now out, the layoffs may not even take place.
“I feel like we have been taken advantage of,” he said. “Our paperwork was due by 5 p.m. on Monday and he resigned after 5 p.m. at the City Council meeting. If I would have known he was leaving, I wouldn’t have filed for the early retirement plan.”
The incentive coupled with the layoffs could save the city $2.5 million. Shaddox said his salary was $130,000, plus the roughly $40,000 in benefits. As one of the employees who would use the incentive, Shaddox gave up his job and will get $680 a month from the retirement plan. His benefits and those of the other employees who chose to take the early retirement offer are forfeited.
Although it appears the city will be saving $170,000 from Shaddox’s resignation, eventually his position must be filled by someone else, and that may include rather large finder’s fee. During the search for Shaddox, the city hired an outside agency specializing in finding executive position candidates. The fee for the search was roughly $20,000, but Director of Management Services Clay Lee said because of the city’s financial situation, they may have to look into different options when hiring someone new.
As for the uncertainty of filing Shaddox’s position, Clint Quilter, director of public works, said the fear of the unknown is normal.
“Certainly every time you have a change in executive management like this there is always some concern and confusion,” he said. “I’m definitely going to miss Dale. I learned a lot from him. It was time well spent.”
Theresa Kiernan, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce, is also disappointed to see the city manager go.
“This is going to be a loss for everyone here,” she said. “There are major things going on here in San Benito County, and it’s going to hurt that we don’t have Dale sitting there helping us.”
When Hollister Downtown Association President Jeff Welch heard the news Tuesday morning, he was caught off guard.
“It’s hard to say how the Downtown Association will be affected,” he said. “There are a lot of capable people at City Hall, and I’m sure someone can step in and pick up the reins and work with us.”
