New City Manager Approved with Close Council Vote

The Colton City Council approved the hiring of Community Development Director William "Bill" Smith as the city's newest city manager in a 4-3 vote at the Feb. 17 council meeting. Mayor Pro Tem Frank Navarro and Councilmembers David Toro, Dr. Luis Gonzalez and Deirdre Bennett voted yes to approve the employment contract and Mayor Richard De La Rosa and Councilmembers Summer Zamora Jorrin and Isaac Suchil voted no. Smith has 30 years experience in municipal government and has spent 14 of those years in Colton, according to city staff reports. Smith filled in as acting city manager over the summer when the city rotated various department heads in the role and replaces Josefina Kenline, who was hired as the interim city manager two months ago. Smith’s employment agreement stipulates a $263,000 annual salary, including retirement and health benefits. Inexperience in the city manager role and the hiring process being circumvented were cited as reasons for some of the council’s dissension. Councilmember Jorrin said, "The city manager position is a vital position in our city. We - you - deserve to have a city manager who is prepared to know how to do the job today, someone who can hit the ground running and produce immediate results, not someone who needs to learn on our dime." Councilmembers Suchil and Jorrin said they believed the hiring process was "circumvented," and Jorrin claimed only one candidate, Smith, was considered for the position. "The residents should have been made aware of the best candidate possible. I've already spoken to Mr. Smith and this is nothing personal, but I think we should've at least gone through the process," Suchil said. Councilmember Bennett countered, saying a recruitment process was followed by the city council prior to the November 2014 election. "Recruitment happened before the new council members came on board. They wanted us to throw out that recruitment and start over. We almost did," Bennett said. "But then some of us said, wait a minute, we spent all that energy - the applicants spent all that energy - applying to the city. They deserved to have us look through their resumes." Bennett claimed a majority of the council felt Smith was the most qualified of those applicants, pointing out his work on the Santa Ana River Trail project and the staging area in the Colton portion. "That's a project," Bennett said. "From start to finish, and it's quality. People like that area... he has that as a feather in his cap, something positive that he did for our community." She also said she felt experience shouldn't be weighed more than character, commitment and follow-through. "You have to look to see how did (someone) approach the position they're currently in? Did they give it their heart and soul? Did they give it everything they had? Are they committed to doing their very best?" she said. "We have had experienced city managers who turned out to leave the city in turmoil, to leave our departments worse off than they came." Councilmember Gonzalez said the last year has been a difficult one for the city, which has been without a permanent city manager since August 2014, when former City Manager Stephen Compton was placed on administrative leave, and has weathered financial hardships. "It's been a very, very difficult year. I'm pretty tired of it right now, if you really want to know," Gonzalez said. "I'm looking for stability and I believe in my heart that's exactly what we need in our city to start moving forward." Mayor De La Rosa said in light of the city's $1.4 million structural deficit - confirmed that evening by Finance Director Anita Agramonte - paying the city manager a $263,000 full salary was a cost too high for the city. "The city cannot afford it," De La Rosa said. "We need to curtail our spending and try to live within our means because a city of our size cannot continue to run when we are overspending. A $263,000 package with benefits and salary...is too much for a city manager, whether it's Bill Smith or someone else." De La Rosa said he'd hoped Kenline's employment would be extended two to three months, allowing the council to allay concerns over Smith’s experience qualifications in the meantime. In an interview with the Colton City News, Smith pointed to the accomplishments of the city's Community Services department as a whole. "I'm proud of the work the Community Services department has done," Smith said. "It's the work of the entire team, to get the teen center and the sports hall of fame - that's one I'm particularly proud of." Though only a few days into his appointment, Smith said his top priority right now is financial stability. "My top priority, always, is fiscal responsibility for the city. We're in a mid-year budget process and a fiscal process. Those are both at the top of the list." It was still too early for Smith to elaborate on the fiscal plan for the city, but he said work was being done and he hoped top management would have a plan of attack soon. In coming years, he said, "My goal is simply to do a good job for the city. I love this city, I've been here a lot of years and I don't want to go anywhere else." Following the vote, Smith's city manager employment term was effective Feb. 18 and will run through Feb. 18, 2018, with a one year automatic term extension. The agreement also allows for a 10 percent raise after the first two years upon satisfactory employee review and a termination clause could allow the council to terminate Smith's employment with a five-vote majority.