What was scheduled to be an annual employee evaluation of Goleta’s city manager turned into marathon talks spanning multiple days, although council members aren’t saying much about what’s transpired so far.
Dan Singer, who has served in the position since 2005, was the subject of a performance evaluation that morphed into more than 11 hours of discussion that will continue Tuesday in closed session at City Hall.
Singer receives an annual salary of $202,277 and is currently employed under a three-year contract.
The council conducts an annual review of Singer. Under state law, the review is conducted in closed session hearings.
Along with the performance evaluation, listed on the same city agenda was an item labeled “public employee discipline/dismissal/release,” although it’s unknown whether that item is at all related to Singer’s situation.
When reached by Noozhawk last week, Singer said he couldn’t comment on the discussion that had taken place during closed session, but that talks would resume Tuesday at the end of the regularly scheduled afternoon council meeting.
Singer also said that the details of his contract would be “hammered out” on Nov. 19 during closed session then.
Council members involved in the discussions have remained decidedly mum on exactly what was said, and did not take any action as a result of last week’s closed meetings.
A stern reminder not to talk about the discussion came from City Attorney Tim Giles, who issued a statement about the hearings last week.
“State law prohibits anyone from speaking about closed session matters while the process is ongoing,” he said. “No one has been authorized by the City Council to make any statement at this time.”
Singer became Goleta’s second city manager in 2005 when he succeeded Fred Stouder in the post. He previously worked as Ojai’s city manager from 2001 to 2005.
Tuesday’s meeting begins at 1:30 p.m. in Goleta City Hall Council Chambers, 130 Cremona Drive, Suite B.
— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at lcooper@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
