The pending departure of two key Escalon city staffers – City Manager Dominique Romo and Police Chief Gustavo Flores – will mean some major changes in the weeks ahead.
Mayor David Bellinger said City Council members are already considering options and will likely appoint both an interim City Manager and an interim Police Chief to fill those slots.
Police Chief Flores has announced his retirement and will leave the city in April.
City Manager Romo is leaving for a position with the City of Hughson, taking on a leadership role there.
Bellinger said before she leaves, Romo will help get the search started for a new Police Chief. Flores gave 30 days’ notice regarding his decision to retire and Romo gave 60 days’ notice regarding her move to Hughson.
Flores has been with the department for several years, including a stint as sergeant, before moving in to the top spot.
Romo has worked for the city in a few different positions as well, serving the last couple of years as City Manager.
The goal, Bellinger said, will be to find people – either in house or through outside recruitment – that will be the best fit for the city moving forward.
And there are plenty of items to be dealt with on the horizon, he said, ranging from addressing aging infrastructure to balancing residents’ desire for slow growth with enough business to help support the community.
He pointed to the recent opening of McDonald’s on McHenry and the arrival of 2 Win Auto Sales at the old Hillier Ford location as helping to bring in needed dollars. Though well short of the revenue provided through the longtime Ford dealership, he said the smaller businesses will take up a little bit of the slack and that is a start.
“We are seeing some building blocks,” Bellinger said, adding that the council does have the difficult task of making sure needs are met while keeping the small town charm that draws so many people here.
And he said he believes the city will have the proper leadership in both the police department and city hall to make that happen.
“There’s no reason not to be optimistic,” Bellinger said.
