Goleta Public Works Director Steve Wagner is leaving the city to join the Goleta Sanitary District.
He’s been with the city for 11 years as director and city engineer.
“He’s a great guy to work with,” said Valerie Kushnerov, public information officer for the city.
She said his last day will be March 28, but the city hasn’t decided what kind of replacement process to use. There could be an interim director appointed or a recruitment process right away, she said.
Wagner will fill the Goleta Sanitary District’s new assistant general manager position, which was created by the board in December. He’ll start at $176,000 per year, according to general manager Kamil Azoury.
The board created the No. 2 position with a $140,000 to $180,000 salary range.
Longtime operations manager Jeffrey Salt retired in December, so Wagner may take over some of Salt’s responsibilities, Azoury added.
Azoury heads the district as general manager and chief engineer and is one of the highest-paid employees in the county with a $259,822 compensation as of the 2010-11 year.
Wagner has worked in Goleta since 2003 and before that served as public works director/city engineer for Carpinteria and deputy director of public works for Santa Barbara County.
— Noozhawk staff writer Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.