The CEO of the water district chose a board member for a new
$184,000 job through a quiet, noncompetitive process that a fellow
board member deemed
”
a little irregular.
”
Gilroy – The CEO of the water district chose a board member for a new $184,000 job through a quiet, noncompetitive process that a fellow board member deemed “a little irregular.”
However, the CEO and the board member excuse the process by pointing to the result – a quick appointment of a highly qualified individual.
Stan Williams, chief executive of the Santa Clara Valley Water District, last month chose Gregory Zlotnick, who was elected to the district board of directors in 1996, 2000 and 2004, to fill a specially created position – special counsel to the CEO for strategic planning. In this position, Zlotnick will oversee policy regarding the San Francisco Bay delta, where the district gets about half its water. Williams neither publicized the job nor interviewed other candidates for it, saying Zlotnick was the best man for the position.
“I’ve been in the job for 13 years and I know just about everybody who is in the water policy business in California,” Williams said. “He’s our best player in this game.”
Williams created the special counsel position and offered it to Zlotnick in June. Zlotnick, then the vice chairman of the board – representing areas ranging from Palo Alto to San Jose – informed fellow board members June 28 that he would leave the board July 10 due to conflicting opportunities. Earlier this week, Williams announced Zlotnick’s appointment, which does not need approval from the board, to district staff and board members.
The process might be legal, but it should give people pause, said Terry Francke, general counsel for Californians Aware, a Sacramento-based open government organization.
“It all raises some eyebrows when a position is not advertised and the job goes to an insider, so to speak, but I don’t know that there’s anything unlawful about it,” he said.
Not only was the hiring process legal, it has been common practice in the district for decades, Williams said.
“That’s in fact the process where I was selected by my predecessor,” he said. “It’s been water district policy for the past 30 years or so.”
The water district also fell under fire when it raised water rates in early June, in part contributing to a $50 million increase to its yearly budget, which was approved last month. The district’s annual expenditure is now $364 million, with about $100 million going to the salary of more than 830 employees.
However, the $184,000-hire should not arouse scrutiny or suspicion of cronyism because the move could cost Williams, he said. Williams is set to have his annual evaluation and salary review this summer and Zlotnick’s departure removes a strong supporter from the board, he added.
While board member Sig Sanchez – a former Santa Clara County supervisor and Gilroy mayor with 27 years on the water board – was caught off guard by the hiring, he supported Williams’ choice.
“Mr. Zlotnick is one of the best versed people statewide as far as the problems of the delta and the working of the delta,” he said. “(Williams) couldn’t have picked a better person for the job.”
