A Santa Rosa City Council once bitterly divided over the hiring of a new city manager came together Tuesday night to unanimously support the hiring of Kathleen Millison, the long-time manager of Clovis, and the city's new top executive.
Three city council members who had for weeks railed against what they said was a flawed hiring process made a dramatic about face, instead voting for her to send the message that they wanted her to succeed.
"In the spirit of moving forward and having Ms. Millison have the best opportunity for success, for the morale of our employees, and to allow this long process to be behind us and move forward both as a council and as an organization, I will be voting this evening to support the hiring of Ms. Millison," Councilman John Sawyer said.
Councilwoman Jane Bender and Ernesto Olivares, who along with Sawyer expressed disappointment in the quality of the applicant pool and advocated instead for the hiring of an interim manager, also voted for Millison as a gesture of good faith.
"This has never been about Kathleen Millison," Bender explained. "She is a very competent city manager."
Instead, Bender said she was disappointed with the quality of the overall applicant pool. The city's own consultant told the council that few top candidates had been attracted to the post because the city had been "black balled" by the state's city managers because its council had a bad reputation, Bender said.
The three have previously been sharply critical of the majority's decision to pass over Deputy City Manager Greg Scoles in favor of former advance planning director Wayne Goldberg for the interim city manager job. They characterized it as a slap in the face to Scoles, who has since agreed to take the top job in Belmont.
Bender said she was disappointed the council continued to push forward despite the anemic candidate pool, but agreed Millison was clearly the most qualified candidate of the bunch.
"I think she will be an asset, so I wish her all the best, and because I want her to have the best start she can, I will be voting to support her hiring," Bender said.
Other council members lauded Millison's expertise and defended the process, noting that they considered several applicants to be qualified for the job.
"She's just a qualified individual," Vice mayor Gary Wysocky said. "I think she's going to be fine. I think she's gong ton be more than fine."
Wysocky said the notion that the city had been boycotted or "black balled" by the city managers around the state struck him as a type of "extortion" to which he was not willing to bow.
The council spent little time discussing the salary and benefits package negotiated for Millison.
She's earn $215,000 per year in base salary and deferred compensation, 6.5 percent less than her predecessor but nearly 40 percent more than she currently makes.
She'll also take the same 5 percent salary reduction that the city's executive staff has pledged to accept.
Gorin defended the package, and said Millison would probably earn over penny of it. On a visit to Clovis, Gorin said she met dozens of people and all were sad to see Millison go.
"I am confident that she has the fortitude, the experience and the incredible warm personal style to lead our city, to help our council, and help our community," Gorin said.
Millison was on vacation and unavailable for comment. She starts Oct. 4. Gorin said she is expected to visit Santa Rosa next month, when a reception will be held in her honor.
UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy: