Community Services Director Susan Andrade-Wax, a target of
recent criticism from city officials, will leave Gilroy next week
for a job in Pleasanton.
Community Services Director Susan Andrade-Wax, a target of recent criticism from city officials, will leave Gilroy next week for a job in Pleasanton.
Andrade-Wax’s resignation comes after city council and various commission and board members have expressed frustration with the department head, claiming that she, along with other staff, have stonewalled requests and inquiries from appointed officials and have not responded adequately to council direction. Controversy emerged last summer when Andrade-Wax cut the city’s annual fireworks show and other popular community programs instead of reducing other costlier services. The council restored most of the original cuts, but Andrade-Wax defended her decision as a practical precursor to layoffs, the exact number of which the council is considering.
Andrade-Wax’s new job will be in a city comparable to Gilroy, with about 66,000 people. Pleasanton sits about 20 miles southeast of Oakland.
News of Andrade-Wax’s resignation came Monday, less than a week after the council directed City Administrator Tom Haglund to consider delaying more projects and employee raises, seeking additional revenue and reducing hours of operation in addition to personnel cuts.
Haglund had recommended, among other options, program cuts and laying off 44 employes, six of which work as full-time employees and five of which are part-time and intern positions in Andrade-Wax’s department.
Given the city’s hiring freeze, Haglund said he does not know if he will recommend filling her position, especially after the council directed him last week to free up an additional $500,000 this fiscal year and another $1,000,000 next fiscal year.
“As of now I am not entirely certain how Susan’s resignation will affect the overall layoff picture,” Haglund wrote in an e-mail Wednesday. “I will evaluate this position in the context of the overall needs of the city and the entirety of the expenditure reductions the city needs to achieve.”
Andrade-Wax earned $148,563 last year without benefits, according to city figures.
