Santa Clara City Manager Announces Retirement
By Robert Haugh
Late last Friday, Interim City Manager Rajeev Batra announced via a city press release that he is retiring effective March 30, 2017. Batra spent 15 years in Santa Clara and 34 years total in public service. We congratulate him on his retirement. He’s not going out with the drama of a prolonged speech, streamers and video tribute that many WWE stars get.
Batra stepped into a difficult situation when controversial city manager Julio Fuentes was put on paid management leave almost a year ago, then departed two months later.
Our sources at city hall tell us that Batra was genuinely a nice guy who treated people well. That’s probably what the city needed after the Fuentes departure.
But our sources also say that Batra seemed to be in over his head at times. We noticed and reported an example of that from the city’s goal-setting meeting last month. Batra pushed back on an idea to separate the stadium authority from the city council, saying the charter wouldn’t allow it. But when it was pointed out that there’s no such language in the charter, it was an embarrassing moment for him. Oops.
Batra also seemed unsure how to handle the 49ers and the struggle over documents that the city council and auditors are demanding. He would say at council meetings that he went to the team headquarters and saw the documents, but he did not read them and could not say what info they contained. Huh?
So, Santa Clara will begin a search for a new city manager. That person will have a great opportunity to make some changes, especially with the mayor and council pushing for more transparency at city hall. That’s something that wasn’t happening with Fuentes or Batra.
Let’s hope the council finds someone who is a good guy or gal who supports openness and community involvement. That would be good for Santa Clara. It would be good to find someone who understands the city charter, too.
[…] That’s good news. The city is moving fast. These types of searches typically take from 6-12 months. But Santa Clara is interviewing candidates just four months after Interim City Manager Rajeev Batra announced his retirement. […]
[…] Interim City Manager Rajeev Batra announced his retirement effective at the end of March, 2017. We broke the story last month. If you want to apply or read the job description, it’s posted on the city’s website. Here’s […]
[…] Retiring Interim City Manager, Rajeev Batra, who has also been serving as Director of Public Works, is guaranteed a merit pay increase in 2017 ranging from two to to five percent. This is guaranteed as part of the MOU in the contract with his bargaining unit. […]
Yes and the past 2 years he has been working for only an additional 5% over his base director’s pay to be CM. That is chump change to step in an clean up the mess Julio left.
Rajeev should be kept on as CM – he has stabilized a City in free-fall.
When he accepted the City Manager position, I asked him why he would ever want that no-win job. Rajeev is a true asset for the City. Sorry he’s leving, but wish him the best. I didn’t talk to him much as City Manager, other than a friendly hello. I was concerned about adding to the burden.
He has always been a reliable source of information & told you when he could not tell you, and not deceive you.