SANTA ANA — After a 2-1/2 hour closed session meeting Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido reported that the City Council had decided to postpone their search for a new City Manager indefinitely. Police Chief Paul Walters will continue as Interim City Manager indefinitely. In July, three days after the close of the application period, the City Council placed the search for a city manager to replace retired David Ream on hold. In August, the Council announced that Walters would stay on as Interim City Manager until November 1, 2011.
From Voice of Orange County:
The indefinite postponement of the city manager search leaves the city’s top administrative position in the hands of Police Chief Paul Walters, who has been serving as interim city manager since Ream retired after 25 years at the helm.
Council members ducked reporters after the meeting and declined to comment on the frozen city manager search.
Santa Ana spent $6,618.25 on consultant services, without a contract to do so, related to the City Manager Search before it was ended in July. It would appear that those resources, and the 50 applications received, have now been tossed out the window.
Earlier during the closed session, Santa Ana Paramedics were called to assist Councilwoman Michele Martinez, who reportedly fell ill due to low blood sugar during the meeting. She is doing fine, but was not able to participate in the open session of the Council meeting. In an ironic twist the Council issued a request for proposal from the Orange County Fire Authority to take over the services the Santa Ana Fire Department whose paramedics earlier assisted Martinez.
Well, of course. No surprise. Where else could he go? Who wants him anyway? I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s got dirty pictures of everyone on the Council.
Quite inappropriate comment wouldn’t you say Mr. Wilson!
I stand by my post. But for the sake of argument Mr. Delgadillo I’ll put it a different way.
I find it highly suspicious that a man in and of his circumstances is permitted or asked to stay on as both Santa Ana City Manager and Police Chief. Paul Walters is expensive merchandise at a time when the city is over 30 million in debt. He contributed to this.
Everyone can be replaced. Me, you and Paul Walters, too. Don’t kid yourself into thinking he’s somehow “irreplaceable”. No one is. If that were true, he’d be the only one on Earth.