Guadalupe will begin November with a new city administrator to help set them up for the new year.
The City Council selected Todd S. Bodem, one of five semi-finalists for the position, which begins Nov. 1. The selection was made in mid-October after what the city called a nationwide search. The hiring of Bodem comes as the city is in the midst of a number of housing projects and seeks to steady its fiscal tumble.
Bodem’s three-year contract will be for $137,500 a year, according to a Guadalupe staff report.
The city has been in a rut in recent years, managing a $700,000 deficit that has led to wage stagnation for city employees. The last city administrator, Cruz Ramos, resigned in February of 2019, two years into a three-year term. After that, Rob Perrault took hold of the city’s management as interim city administrator.
“He has been a great asset for the city in the short amount of time he’s been with the city. His professionalism has been greatly appreciate by the council and staff,” Councilmember Liliana Cardenas said of Perrault.
Cardenas is in her first term on the council after a December 2018 swearing in. She said the council’s goals are to continue shoring up the city’s finances as its housing projects inch toward completion.
The city’s main projects are already underway, including an 800-house development and low-income housing projects just off Guadalupe street. She highlighted the city’s development goals, not just with housing, but for businesses too.
“Definitely helping us with renovating our downtown—that’s been a big goal for all council members,” she said. “Most of [Bodem’s] direction will come from the council, so he’ll be working alongside our police chief.”
Cardenas said it’s Bodem’s experience with small cities that she expects will apply directly to Guadalupe’s goals and needs, but they were also impressed with his energy and enthusiasm.
Bodem comes to the post with about 20 years of experience as a city administrator in Minnesota and, more recently, in Sand City, California. He held that position for four years and helped shepherd a $250 million mixed-use development and an $800 million beachfront hotel.
He resigned from his last job in October 2018, saying that he felt it was time for a change. He sent his résumé to jobs across the country, including for a position with Flagler County in Florida. He also applied for the city manager posting in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, for which he was one of three finalists.
For his new job, he’ll be looking at a range of issues including increasing housing, getting an accurate count on the census, and bringing more revenue into the city. Guadalupe has discussed a potential 1 percent sales tax increase.
With the housing projects will come an increase in population. Bodem thinks Guadalupe will need to hit about 10,000 people for it to generate the kind of tax revenue and development the city needs to thrive. That would be an increase of more than 3,000 residents. In past interviews, Mayor Ariston Julian has said it’s not likely the city would want to grow much larger than that.
Part of being a good city administrator is also in getting to know the residents, and Bodem said that includes community engagement. But to know the right strategy, Bodem said, he needs to huddle with the City Council.
“There’s the unknowns,” he said. “I’m new. I’ll learn what the policymakers’ goals are and work with them to take Guadalupe to the next level.”
He said he’ll also be looking at housing and that even people with good jobs have trouble finding a place to live.
“To be a quality community you want to have more affordable housing from very, very low wage to market rate,” he said.
Bodem said the projects already in the works won’t need any new planning. It’s future projects, like commercial development, that will need to be figured out. Larry Appel, the contract planning director for the city, has said Guadalupe anticipates looking at what commercial development the city might want to do.
Whatever it is, Bodem expects to be hands-on.
“I’m not just a guy who’s worked for a town of 50,000 where there’ a lot of delegation,” he said. “I’ll be the author of everything I do.”
Staff Writer William D’Urso can be reached at wdurso@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Oct 31 – Nov 6, 2019.