Special Council meeting today to interview City Manager candidates
March 31, 2017
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
The City Council will hold a special meeting Friday to interview candidates for the City Manager’s position, as well as to appoint an interim City Manager.
The March 31 meeting will start at 8 a.m. in the City Hall Administration Conference Room; public comment will be heard before the council adjourns to the closed session.
The council will also appoint an interim City Manager to take the place of Jaime Fontes, whose last day with the city is April 15.
Fontes announced he was retiring from the corner office late last year; hired in late 2009, he started with the city in February 2010.
His contract was extended two months after an apparent council disagreement after several elected officials told a county newspaper that a vote had been taken that revealed a lack of support for extending Fontes’ contract. No vote was taken although Fontes’ had been subject to numerous performance evaluations since a new council majority was seated more than a year ago.
The recruiting consultant helping the council find a new city manager received 49 applications. At a recent meeting the council went through applications from those considered most suitable. It is not known how many candidates they will interview Friday.
