Council terminates city manager, finds replacement in chief of police
BY ALEX CANTATORE
The first day of spring isn’t until March 20, but the Turlock City Council decided it was time to clean house Tuesday night.
Just before 12 midnight on Tuesday, the Turlock City Council decided to terminate the employment contract of City Manager Tim Kerr during a regularly-scheduled performance review. On Thursday, the Council moved to hire Chief of Police Gary Hampton as interim city manager.
Kerr had managed the cities of Ceres and Livingston before coming to Turlock in October of 2005 as interim city manager following the retirement of Steve Kyte. According to a press release issued at that time, Kerr had no desire to seek the permanent position of Turlock City Manager, but on Jan. 20, 2006, Kerr was selected from a pool of 37 applicants to lead the City.
“I was shocked to tell you the truth, but I couldn’t be happier,” Kerr said at the time. “This is a final step for me.”
Kerr’s employment with the City has been tenuous since 2007, when he was embroiled in a controversy regarding the City’s contract with the Turlock City Employees Association.
City Council members Ted Howze and Kurt Spycher believed that the Council’s will had not been executed in the final contract, which contained a large boost to employee retirement plans, the costs of which were shouldered by the City. Howze and Spycher believed the Council had not agreed to that increase.
While the specific reasons for Kerr’s dismissal are still sealed, at Tuesday’s City Council meeting councilmembers again expressed their displeasure with City staff.
Howze believed City staff had failed to obtain a new appraisal of the city-owned warehouse at 400 B St., as had been the Council’s will. Spycher also questioned why Kerr had granted a liquor license to the controversial Vintage Lounge after the request had initially been denied by the Public Convenience and Necessity committee.
According to City Clerk Rhonda Greenlee, Kerr’s severance package will include 30 days of paid leave and nine months of salary and benefits. Kerr has the opportunity to file for Administrative Remedy over his dismissal, but if he fails to do so the details of Kerr’s firing will become public record on Jan. 27.
Wasting little time, the council met in a special meeting at 4 p.m. on Thursday to appoint a new interim city manager. Councilwoman Amy Bublak could not attend the meeting, as she was in Washington, D.C, but listened to the proceedings via telephone. Bublak was not able to participate in the proceedings because the hotel she stayed at refused to post a public notice of the meeting, as required by the Brown Act.
According to City Attorney Phaedra Norton, following a two-hour meeting the councilmembers present Thursday unanimously voted to appoint Hampton as interim city manager. Hampton will hold this post until such time as the City hires a permanent city manager, a process that is estimated to take four to six months.
“There were no other candidates considered,” said Mayor John Lazar. “The full council has the utmost confidence in Chief Hampton’s ability to lead this Council and City during the challenging times ahead. We’re very excited to have him, and we’re all committed to working forward in the best interests of the City of Turlock.”
Hampton will continue to serve as Turlock’s Chief of Police during his term as interim city manager.
For the next two-to-three weeks Hampton will split his time equally between City Hall and the police department, gradually transitioning to spend approximately 80 percent of his day as city manager. Hampton stated that he will rely upon his trusted seconds in command, Captains Mike Langston and Robert Jackson, and Support Operations Division Manager Lani Smith to ensure the future of the police department.
“I want to make myself clear, I have absolutely no aspirations to be a city manager at all,” Hampton said. “It is a job I hold in high regard and have the utmost respect for, but I want to serve out my career as Chief of Police.”
According to Hampton, the City Council wanted to hire a city manager that knew the projects, challenges, and people of the Turlock government. As a new hire would take three to four months to get up to speed, given the current dire economic straits it “didn’t seem effective” to bring in a new city manager with no Turlock experience.
“I had the opportunity to sit back as a department head and let someone else take this position,” Hampton said. “I was encouraged by some colleagues to step up and the City Council inquired. We have a solid leadership team at the department head level, and any one of them could step in and do this job.”
Now that he holds the title of interim city manager, Hampton understands there’s much work to be done to see Turlock through these economically difficult times.
“The next six months bring a lot of challenges to this city,” Hampton said. “The challenges are significant, many, and large. There’s a lot of work for all of us.”
Hampton will continue to receive his salary as chief of police, with no pay raise for the additional work of serving as interim city manager. Hiring an interim city manager would have cost the cash-strapped city $13,000 to $16,000 per month.
“The city faces the same budget challenges that every community in California is facing,” Hampton said. “I take very seriously the challenges before the city.”
To contact Alex Cantatore, e-mail acantatore@turlockjournal.com or call 634-9141 ext. 2005.
Originally published in the Turlock Journal 1/17/2009.
Retrieved from the Turlock Journal Web site.