Politics & Government
City to End Contract with Former City Manager
Joe Tait's consulting services will no longer be needed when a new utilities director comes aboard later this month, a city spokeswoman says.
San Juan Capistrano will end its four-year relationship with the man whom City Council members have credited with fixing local water problems.
Joe Tait—a onetime chief operating officer at the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California—will wind down his time with the city the same way it began, as a consultant to the utilities department. Tait, who has said he never intended to stay on as a permanent employee with the city, filled for two years the interim city manager and utilities director post.
The latter . At that time, he will "assess the department's needs and lead it in all aspects of its day-to-day operations. The consultant contract will no longer be needed," said spokeswoman Kelly Tokarski.
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Tait was retained as a consultant when Since then he's made $55,687.50, Tokarski said.
He was known among critics for being one of the highest paid local administrators in California. For most of his time filling the city manager and utilities director post, he made $324,000 a year, although he did not receive benefits, such as the car allowance and health benefits received by other department heads.
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He was initially hired as a consultant in 2007. Throughout his time with the city he was tasked with removing high concentrations of iron and manganese from the drinking water supply and helping settle a over an .
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