Five years has passed quickly and it is time to renew the contract for the Grand Terrace city manager. On June 9, 2020 The Grand Terrace City Council voted to continue the services of G. Harold Duffey as city manager of Grand Terrace.
This employment contract negotiation comes at a tenuous time due to the COVID-19 virus and the uncertainty of all of our futures. City Hall is no exception. Mayor McNaboe supporting the decision of renewing city manager G. Harold Duffy’s contract said, “consistency is important especially at this time.” Her confidence in the city manager is steadfast “As a city, if you can find a unwavering source of stability during uncertain times and it comes without an increase in cost to the taxpayers, that is rare. Mr. Duffey’s term of service as City Manager has been exceptional, not only has he successfully fulfilled Council priorities, he has been innovative in finding additional sources of revenue to fund needed public works projects and other projects to enhance the resident’s quality of life, without placing any additional burden on the local taxpayer.
In a direct question to Duffy of rumors of layoffs in City Hall were initiated to provide for his employment contract, Duffy responded “Layoffs were COVID-19 related, because of the uncertainty of businesses closing; Sales tax dollars, fees, and permits, revenue would be reduced and our expenditures were uncertain we were unsure of the impact created. Therefore a revenue enhancement and expenditure reduction plan was provided to the council.
“All employees laid off were probationary employees in their probationary period. We try to provide Core services to the public without impacting the hours of operation and without impacting the essential services and attempted to maintain a sustainable service level. City Hall closed and there’s no public activity at City Hall without an appointment. Therefore our operation changed. Based on those changes and our revenue uncertainty. Council approved the plan,“ Shared Duffy.
All remaining employees are full-time and without furlough, which is the least disruptive answer for employees and keeps morale at is optimum.
According to Duffy “There is no change to the base salary or benefits of his last amended contract and the contract can be terminated without cause with a six-month severance pay provision.”
Everyone has had to adjust their business model operational plan to contend with COVID-19 what has the city done in this regard? What have you implemented to increase revenue and decrease expenditures and reduce costs?
“Our revenue has been reduced and our expenditures are still uncertain so we have looked at our outside contractors contracts and have reached out to them to try to get a reduction in the overall costs. We anticipate about a 10 percent reduction. Also we continue to research for government COVID-19 related money available from the County, State and Federal government.” Duffy shared.
“In times of uncertainty the responsibility of the city manager is to go to the council with foresight and recommendations. We need to prepare ourselves for the new fiscal year and that’s what we did,” stated Duffy. “During COVID-19 the City Council approved the plan by the city manager to ensure the services to the citizens we’re not disrupted.”
“Our primary services have not been reduced; health and safety, Code enforcement, Trash service, even our parks are being maintained. We are still processing applications, the future of the city is still through economic development. We have to make sure we’re open for business and core services to the public are intact," explained Duffy.