The Los Banos City Council unanimously passed a resolution on July 11 to appoint Gregory B. Wellman as Interim City Manager and to approve an Interim City Manager Employment Agreement with Wellman.
The action, taken at a Monday morning special council meeting, followed the council’s July 6 decision to hire Wellman following a closed session.
The termination of previous city manager Josh Pinheiro left the city manager’s position vacant. Wellman was appointed to handle the responsibilities of city manager temporarily while recruitment to fill the vacant position takes place.
City Attorney William Vaughn, in his written staff report to the council, stated, “Mr. Gregory Wellman possesses the experience, specialized skills and training to fill the necessary interim City Manager role.”
“Mr. Wellman,” Vaughn continued, “previously served as CEO for the County of Merced; City Manager for the City of Atwater; and Interim City Manager for the City of Oakdale and is currently retired.”
Because Wellman is retired, there are several California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) requirements within Wellman’s employment agreement.
“Mr. Wellman is currently retired and he’s a CalPERS annuitant, which requires a little bit of special language in terms of the resolution and in his employment agreement,” Vaughn said during the meeting.
Like all CalPERS employees, Wellman is expected to work no more than 960 hours in the fiscal year and may not work over 40 hours per week. Another requirement is that Wellman will be paid hourly, as opposed to a salary.
Per CalPERS regulations, Wellman is not entitled to any benefits from the city, including insurance (except Worker’s Compensation Insurance coverage), any city retirement program or paid leave.
As interim city manager, Wellman is expected to attend regular and special city council meetings, community events and city functions as directed by the city council.
Wellman is also expected to set office hours at city hall and provide reasonable availability to the city council, city staff and members of the community.
Vaughn’s report also specifies that, “There are currently sufficient funds in the 2022/23 budget to cover the costs associated with the proposed employment agreement for the remainder of the fiscal year.”
