Roughly half a dozen people have applied for the city manager’s
job in San Juan Bautista, where leaders want to have the position
become permanent after having an acting administrator for nearly
two years.
City Clerk Trish Paetz said recently that she is awaiting
direction from the city council about how to proceed. The matter
could formally come before the council at its Feb. 16 meeting at
City Hall.
Roughly half a dozen people have applied for the city manager’s job in San Juan Bautista, where leaders want to have the position become permanent after having an acting administrator for nearly two years.
City Clerk Trish Paetz said recently that she is awaiting direction from the city council about how to proceed. The matter could formally come before the council at its Feb. 16 meeting at City Hall.
The city has advertised the job on its Web site since late last year. After the initial Dec. 28 deadline, when only one candidate – acting city manager Steve Julian – applied, the city extended the deadline to Jan. 29 with the hope of attracting more applicants.
During the extended application period, the city advertised the job with the League of California Cities and more candidates surfaced.
Mayor Ed Laverone has said that the council favors a permanent city manager because that person would likely be more invested in his or her decisions than would someone who has the interim title.
Julian, who commutes to San Juan from his 20-acre ranch in Coalinga, was hired by the Mission City in June 2008. He makes $45.43 per hour.
Julian was fired as Coalinga’s city manager after refusing to fire the police chief, whom the city council did not support. He filed a $1.8 million wrongful termination claim and later settled for approximately $225,000.
Julian has been credited with repairing San Juan’s working relationships with other local governmental entities such as the county of San Benito and the city of Hollister.
