GILROY—After seven years as Gilroy’s city administrator, Tom Haglund will be leaving his post for the Sierras.
Haglund, who was hired in 2008, accepted a job as general manager for the Tuolumne Utilities District in Sonora, Mayor Don Gage confirmed Wednesday. He will depart in mid-October, which gives officials time to conduct a nationwide search for his replacement.
Gage said it could take three to six months to select top candidates for the position, which earns $226,000 annually.
“It all depends on what kind of candidates are out that and whether or not the council is satisfied with what’s available,” he said.
Gage said Haglund called to tell him when he first applied for the Sonora position, and again called him Wednesday morning to let him know he had accepted the job offer.
While his departure was a “surprise,” Gage said, there are no hard feelings and that he’s proud of Haglund’s work balancing the city’s budgets, especially during the Great Recession.
“Tom has done an outstanding job,” the mayor told the Dispatch. “He brought the city back from the brink during the recession and kept the city financially sound. He will be missed, there’s no question about it.”
The city administrator guided Gilroy through a ravaging economic downturn that led to layoffs at City Hall.
“I am very proud of the very difficult work the council and staff undertook to set a course for financial sustainability,” Haglund wrote in an emailed statement to the Dispatch. “I am even more proud of the fact we have lived up to a commitment we made to the community to operate the city with a balanced budget each and every year.”
Gage said it’s likely an upper echelon employee will cover the position until Haglund’s replacement is hired. But the goal isn’t to hire someone quickly. The goal, he said, is to hire the best candidate.
“We have to take our time. This is not a process we want to rush,” the mayor said. “We want to get the best qualified.”
According to Gage, Haglund already has a home in the Sonora area, where he plans to live with his wife, who is retired.
