Antsy job prospects have inspired overseers of the Santa Clara
Valley Water District to momentarily cede hiring authority back to
the agency’s scandal-tainted chief administrator.
Morgan Hill – Antsy job prospects have inspired overseers of the Santa Clara Valley Water District to momentarily cede hiring authority back to the agency’s scandal-tainted chief administrator.
On Tuesday, the agency’s seven-member governing board agreed to let Chief Executive Officer Stan Williams exercise final say in the hiring of a new Sacramento lobbyist, a position that carries a salary between $111,000 and $150,000. The decision, intended to allow the board more time to sort out its exact involvement in the hiring of top-level “unclassified” employees, comes just two months after officials stripped Williams of his hiring powers for appointing former board member Gregory Zlotnick to a $184,000 a year job as special counsel.
“This was kind of a special situation,” said Sig Sanchez, an at-large member board member from South County. “Obviously those people working in Sacramento that might be interested in a job like we’re offering, if their names are exposed and their bosses find out, it makes it pretty rough for them.”
Two of the five candidates vying for the lobbyist job expressed concerns about their names being aired in a public meeting, according to district spokeswoman Susan Siravo. And despite waiving their newfound hiring authority this time around, she stressed that board members did not revert to business as usual.
“For this particular position, once the board was assured that staff had followed the proper hiring procedures, including the recruitment process, and that the salary was in line with similar positions at like agencies, then they went ahead and (decided to) allow the CEO to do the appointment,” Siravo said, adding: “Under the old system, they wouldn’t even have been involved in asking if the procedures were followed correctly.”
The board chose in July to exercise final say in the hiring of unclassified employees, now numbering 33, in the wake of the Zlotnick scandal. Board members agreed that their colleague and 10-year board veteran was ideal for the position as pointman in high-stakes water politics surrounding the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. But they chaffed at Williams’ failure to hold a competitive hiring process for the job or even notify them of the appointment. In the face of widespread public cries of cronyism, the board agreed to pass a series of changes that includes having the district’s chief counsel directly report to the governing body as well as instituting a “revolving door policy,” banning board members from accepting district jobs until they have been out of office for a year.
But their newfound hiring powers have proven to be the thorniest of the changes to put into practice. District board members have spent weeks trying to understand the exact nature of their role in the hiring process.
The typical hiring process for the Sacramento lobbyist and other unclassified jobs involves a public request for applications, followed by vetting of applicants by a panel composed of HR representatives and a mix of other district employees, according to Siravo. The candidates that pass the initial screening then move on to a separate interview panel with a similar mix of district employees. The top candidates then interview with the manger overseeing that position and with Williams.
“They didn’t actually delve into how deep into the process they’d get,” Siravo said of district board members. “Would they interview candidates or just approve staff’s recommendation? I think they hadn’t really outlined what the board’s involvement would be in the process. They’re not a (Human Resources) department, but at the same time they do want to have final say on the candidates that get hired for unclassified positions.”
Sanchez said he and colleagues agreed Tuesday to avoid “micro-managing” the hiring process and instead focus on decisions centered on the number of employees, the nature of the work, and the salary associated with the job.
“There was some misunderstanding on the part of my colleagues as to what we originally intended to do,” Sanchez said Tuesday after emerging from the all-day board meeting at the agency’s San Jose headquarters. “There was a lot of discussion today about whether we’re trying to micromanage the district in who (Williams) should or should not hire, because some of us want to reduce, and hopefully not add to the unclassified positions when a vacancy becomes available. … But if every applicant is submitted to us and we’re interviewing the guy, that was not in my opinion the intent.”
The board plans to clarify its role in the hiring process at an Oct. 23 meeting.
