City's new manager to start job April 14.Byline: Edward Russo The Register-Guard CORRECTION (ran Feb. 22, 2008): City/Region: Eugene City councilor coun·cil·or also coun·cil·lor n. A member of a council, as one convened to advise a governor. See Usage Note at council. coun Mike Clark voted in favor of hiring Jon Ruiz as Eugene's city manager. Clark's name was omitted from a Thursday article on Page E1. The Eugene City Council on Wednesday hired Jon Ruiz of Fresno, Calif., as city manager at an annual salary of $162,150 a year. Ruiz will start work in Eugene on April 14. He'll move up from a job in Fresno, where he was one of two assistant city managers, to become the top administrator in Eugene's 1,547-employee city government. "I really want to dig into Verb 1. dig into - examine physically with or as if with a probe; "probe an anthill" poke into, probe penetrate, perforate - pass into or through, often by overcoming resistance; "The bullet penetrated her chest" the community and the (city) organization and get to work," he said in a phone interview from Fresno. "I'm looking forward to creating some great partnerships with the community." The council on Feb. 3 agreed to offer Ruiz the job, dependent upon successful background and reference checks and salary negotiations. With those done, councilors on Wednesday voted 6-2 to finalize fi·nal·ize tr.v. fi·nal·ized, fi·nal·iz·ing, fi·nal·iz·es To put into final form; complete or conclude: "They have jointly agreed ... Ruiz's employment contract. Councilors Jennifer Solomon, George Poling, Andrea Ortiz, Chris Pryor and Alan Zelenka voted in favor of the hire. "I think he will be a great fit for Eugene," Zelenka said. "He's personable PERSONABLE. Having the capacities of a person; for example, the defendant was judged personable to maintain this action. Old Nat. Brev. 142. This word is obsolete. , proactive and his energetic style is exactly what this city needs." Councilors Betty Taylor and Bonny Bonny (bŏn`ē), town, SE Nigeria, in the Niger River delta, on the Bight of Biafra. In the 18th and 19th cent., Bonny was the center of a powerful trading state, and in the 19th cent. it became the leading site for slave exportation in W Africa. Bettman, who preferred to hire Joseph Lessard Joseph Lessard was a politician in the Quebec, Canada. He served as Member of the Legislative Assembly. [1] Early life He was born on April 8, 1847 in Saint-Léon, Mauricie. , a former assistant city manager of Austin, Texas, voted against hiring Ruiz. Ruiz (pronounced "Reese") said he's not bothered that Bettman and Taylor voted against him. "I just look forward to creating those good working relationships" with councilors individually and collectively, he said. Ortiz on Feb. 3 voted against offering Ruiz the job, mainly because she wasn't ready to pick either Ruiz or Lessard. But on Wednesday, Ortiz voted to hire Ruiz. His reference check showed that he is highly regarded in Fresno, she said. "There is no chink in the armor that I could find," Ortiz said. "I feel this guy will do a good job for us." Ruiz, 49, will become Eugene's 10th city manager, excluding interim city managers. He hasn't been a city manager before. But councilors who supported Ruiz hope that his experience in Fresno, where he oversees seven departments and more than 2,000 employees, has prepared him for the city manager's post. Ruiz will succeed Dennis Taylor
At $162,150 a year, Ruiz will make considerably more than his current annual salary of $140,400. He also will make $12,827 more annually than Taylor's last salary. Like other city managers, Ruiz will receive other compensation besides salary. For example, he will get $12,000 a year in deferred compensation, medical insurance for him and his wife, a $6,000 annual car allowance, plus a yearly cell phone allowance of $480. The city will pay both the employer and employee contribution to Ruiz's Public Employee Retirement (PERS a. 1. Light blue; grayish blue; - a term applied to different shades at different periods. ) pension plan. The city will give Ruiz credit for five years of employment toward his vacation allotment, 10 days of management vacation per year to compensate him for extra hours worked, plus sick leave and holiday pay equal to other non-union, or city management, employees. Also, the city will pay Ruiz $15,000 to help him move to Eugene and reimburse re·im·burse tr.v. re·im·bursed, re·im·burs·ing, re·im·burs·es 1. To repay (money spent); refund. 2. To pay back or compensate (another party) for money spent or losses incurred. him for two trips to Eugene before then. The contract allows the council to fire Ruiz after six months on the job, but he would be paid a lump sum Lump sum A large one-time payment of money. severance equal to six months of salary, PERS contributions, deferred compensation, health insurance, auto and cell phone allowance and accrued ac·crue v. ac·crued, ac·cru·ing, ac·crues v.intr. 1. To come to one as a gain, addition, or increment: interest accruing in my savings account. 2. vacation. He would not be compensated if he was fired because he committed a crime. Pryor, as the council president, with help from city staff, negotiated the salary and benefits with Ruiz. Pryor said city staff and the city's recruiter gave Ruiz an idea of what the city would pay so Ruiz "was in the ballpark by the time I got to the table." "What was left for me to do, was to discuss some finer points about severance, relocation RELOCATION, Scotch law, contracts. To let again to renew a lease, is called a relocation. 2. When a tenant holds over after the expiration of his lease, with the consent of his landlord, this will amount to a relocation. costs, cost of living adjustments and accrued leave," Pryor said. "Jon was very friendly and accommodating and none of his interests were out of line with our comfort level, so the negotiations went smoothly and quickly." |
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