Bankrupt Vallejo Spends Big On New City Manager
VALLEJO (CBS) - Vallejo, a bankrupt city struggling with 12 percent unemployment and a half abandoned downtown, has just hired an expensive city manager to turn things around.
For 40 years, Phil Batchelor has been working in city government around the state; including a 17-year stint as Contra Costa County's administrator. In an unusual move, the city of Vallejo has now hired Batchelor specifically to be an interim city manager - so it's not a permanent position.
And his salary is not cheap. Batchelor will get paid in monthly installments of $25,000 – that's $300,000 a year.
The city of course, has a part time mayor and city council members, so it depends on a city manager to keep everything running. On top of that, Batchelor is described as a "turnaround expert."
"What it means is that I come into a place that's having challenges and see if I can come up with a better outcome," said Batchelor. .
In his video report, Joe Vazquez talks to Batchelor about his salary, an the challenges facing Vallejo.
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