Foster City announces new city manager

“Experience is one of the most important things for us,” Awasthi said. “Having that experience, not just in theory, but actually demonstrating as a manager. That was the number one thing.”

Vice Mayor Jon Froomin was confident Chatwin was the right person for the job following interviews. He praised his experience, leadership skills and good ethics, saying his consideration of employees reminded him of longtime City Manager Jim Hardy.

“I think we found a very good candidate who checks all the boxes. We wanted someone with experience, been a city manager and someone with good leadership skills, and I think we have that,” Froomin said.

Chatwin most recently worked as the city manager of Fairfield and Imperial. His public sector work includes work in Hayden, Idaho, and Santaquin, Utah. He also spent time as a director of Community Services in Ogden, Utah, after serving in the U.S. Air Force. He has a degree from Brigham Young University.

Chatwin resigned from his city manager job in Fairfield after a divided City Council voted 5-1, with one councilmember absent, to accept his Nov. 24 resignation. According to an article in the Fairfield Daily Republic, tensions first appeared between the council and Chatwin at a Sept. 7 meeting when the council rejected a plan by Chatwin to change how city staff handled homelessness policy. Despite the difficult situation in Fairfield, both Awasthi and Froomin felt comfortable with the hire.

Froomin watched Chatwin’s last council meeting for Fairfield and was confident in his demeanor and actions. The video interactions strengthened his belief that Chatwin had good character. Froomin understood why Chatwin left because the council interfered with the city manager’s operations around specific hirings and promotions.

“What I saw was the councilmembers in Fairfield stepping out of their lane and into the city manager’s lane, and it wasn’t one; it was two or three of them. That makes it very difficult for a city manager to be the CEO of your community,” Froomin said.

Awasthi said the council would stay in its lane and let the city manager have ownership and empowerment to make decisions. Froomin said Chatwin would get full support and opportunity to succeed from the City Council.

Foster City dealt with its own city manager issues when former City Manager Peter Pirnejad was dismissed in August after only seven months in the job following a close 3-2 vote. Awasthi and councilmembers Sam Hindi and Patrick Sullivan voted yes to terminate the city’s contract with Pirnejad. Froomin and Councilmember Sanjay Gehani voted no. The council initially was happy with his December 2020 hiring, voting 5-0 to accept him. While the council never gave a specific reason for his firing, Hindi later referenced a lack of direction from the city and not being a right fit for the organization. Pirnejad was later hired as city manager for Los Altos Hills.

Chatwin will take over for Interim City Manager Edmund Suen, who will return to his job as finance director. Suen was put in charge in April after former Interim City Manager Kevin Miller returned to retirement. Miller reached his maximum work hour limit of 960 hours allowed by the California Public Employees’ Retirement System and could no longer continue. Miller, who retired as city manager in 2018, was hired in September following Pirnejad’s dismissal. Police Chief Tracy Avelar briefly served as acting city manager before Miller’s hiring.

The hiring process took months longer than initially expected, and the city held a second hiring search after the first search did not result in hiring a candidate. Froomin said other cities were going through similar situations to find city managers, with candidate pools thinner than usual amid more resignations.

“Nobody really wanted to settle,” Froomin said. “We went through a situation that was not pleasant, and I don’t think anybody wanted to go through the situation again. We wanted to make sure we got it right.”

Awasthi and Froomin said a high priority is increasing staff morale and confidence following significant changes in the past two years, ensuring staff has stability and support at the top. Awasthi said the Levee project, Recreation Center rebuild, and handling the budget’s structural deficit were crucial priorities.

Chatwin’s salary will be $274,000 a year.

curtis@smdailyjournal.com

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