By MES Dispatch Staff
The Briefing
- The Hollister, California, City Council voted Oct. 21 to terminate City Manager Ana Cortez “not for cause,” days after layoffs affected at least nine civilian staff members at the Hollister Police Department.
- The city laid off employees across multiple departments Oct. 14 as it tried to address a budget deficit of at least $2 million, KSBW reported.
- The Hollister Police Officers Association said the city intended to lay off the department’s entire civilian staff; the city denied that claim.
- All police department employees were asked to return to work temporarily as of Oct. 19 while the city and employee unions review department budgets.
- The layoffs are scheduled for Nov. 13 and will remain in effect until the council takes further action, according to the report.
HOLLISTER, Calif. — The Hollister City Council fired its city manager and called laid-off police employees back to work after layoffs prompted a public dispute with the police officers’ union, according to KSBW.
The city laid off employees across multiple departments Oct. 14, including at least nine non-sworn personnel at the police department, as it sought to close a budget deficit of at least $2 million. The Hollister Police Officers Association claimed the city planned to lay off the department’s entire civilian staff, a claim the city denied. Officers gathered outside the station in a ceremonial send-off for the affected employees.
As of Oct. 19, all police department employees were asked to return to work temporarily. According to a union statement, they may continue department work while the city and employee unions conduct further reviews of department budgets. The union thanked the public for its support, saying the effort might not have succeeded without the community’s response.
The same day, the association published a unanimous vote of no confidence in then-City Manager Ana Cortez. The union alleged failures in communication about the layoffs, mistreatment of employees, labor law concerns, financial mismanagement and “reckless disregard for public safety.” Those allegations are the union’s; the city’s response to them was not included in the report.
On Oct. 21, the City Council voted to terminate Cortez “not for cause,” according to KSBW.
The layoffs are scheduled for Nov. 13 and will remain in effect until the City Council takes further action.