Amador County – Ione’s new Interim City Manager Jeff Butzlaff said there was “no honeymoon” and he went straight to the marriage two weeks ago when he started working for the city.

He jokes that there were “skid marks on my desk,” but truly the work was piled up and still is. The first item was addressing a wastewater cease & desist order, and its timeline of tasks required by the Regional Water Quality Control Board. He and the new city attorney have been trying to digest the technical information, and it has taken more time than he expected, but it was the top priority.

The city still must work on its budget for 2011-2012, which was put aside because the former city manager was leaving. On Monday, the Ione City Council advised Butzlaff and Fire Chief Ken Mackey to continue with hiring a third paid fire engineer. There was some question about having no approved budget in place, but as it uses Measure M funds, the Council enthusiastically urged the hiring to continue.

Butzlaff said the hiring had “fallen by the wayside” in transition and the Council told him there was no need to authorize it, that the city manager has the duty and OK to hire, as part of the hiring phases already approved.

Mackey was in the interview process when they sought clarification. Butzlaff said “in a short time we will be able to determine the successful candidate,” and “in 2-3 weeks it should be a done deal.”

The City is also addressing a recent Grand Jury report, and a response that is required by Aug. 18. Butzlaff said he is not directly involved with the response, but did discuss the issue in a conference call with the Grand Jury and the new attorney. He said the volume and wide scope of requests for information was discussed, and its impact on day-to-day operations of the city, due to limited staffing. The Grand Jury said it will make an effort to clarify certain specific things in its requests, so to narrow the amount of information to be given.

New City Attorney James Maynard is working on the response, and Former City Manager Kim Kerr, “though she no longer works for the city, is putting together a response from her perspective.” Butzlaff said “I thought that was appropriate.”

There are also boxes of material around the office, as the Grand Jury asked it to be left in the condition it was found. The Grand Jury has been asked to continue its analysis of the city through this year.

Butzlaff said he has worked for a lot of cities, and through a lot of recessions and staff cutbacks, and “this looks like one of the more challenging” he has come up with.

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.