The City of San Juan Bautista has eliminated the position of
interim Public Works Supervisor
– a move former supervisor Rick Cokley believes is not an
elimination but a firing.
San Juan Bautista – The City of San Juan Bautista has eliminated the position of interim Public Works Supervisor – a move former supervisor Rick Cokley believes is not an elimination but a firing.
While city officials say their agreement with Cokley, who also serves as the city’s volunteer fire chief, had simply expired, Cokley says he was not told of the decision until five days after the fact or was even aware that the position was temporary.
“I thought things were going pretty smoothly,” he said. “I don’t understand why the position was eliminated.”
According to City Manager Jennifer Coile, Cokley’s appointment as Public Works Supervisor ended on Dec. 31, six months after he began on July 1. Cokley said he had originally offered to take on the position as a favor to the newly-appointed city manager.
“When I served as interim city manager, I could see the biggest distraction was dealing with the minute issues of public works,” Cokley said. “So I said, ‘Let me take that part off your hands,’ and it wasn’t much of a stretch from what I was already doing with the fire department.”
When he took the job, however, Cokley says there was no contract signed, nor was it made explicit to him that the job would only be temporary. He believed the job would be his as long as he was willing to keep it. When Coile informed him after the New Year’s holiday that he would no longer be working with the Public Works Department, Cokley said he was shocked.
“It was a big surprise,” he said. “She told me on the third or fourth, but the letter said it was effective as of the 31st of December. No one had told me anything until then.”
Cokley says it was explained to him that the City Council had never approved the position, and as such was eliminating it.
“I never saw a contract, and I wasn’t made aware that it was a temporary position,” said City Councilman Chuck Geiger. “But I’m not sad at all to see him go… I was concerned on a number of occasions that the city looked trashy. It doesn’t cost much to keep the city clean, and that was his job.”
According to Coile, the four public works technicians currently employed by the city will rotate filling the position of head public works technician/acting public works coordinator on a monthly basis, for the next four months. No deadline was proposed, however, to have a permanent candidate in place, or even if the city would be looking for a permanent public works coordinator.
The city’s decision did not apply to Cokley’s role as San Juan’s fire chief, and he says he intends to keep the position – though he will be looking for part-time work. He also added that although he is not pleased with how the city handled this particular situation, he would not be opposed to working for the San Juan in the future.
Neither Cokley nor Coile returned phone calls regarding Cokley’s salary as Public Works Coordinator. Although the information is public record, City Treasurer Paul Peterson would not release the information, citing orders from the city attorney not to do so.
