City Council Agenda Report
Meeting Date:
September 17, 2024
From:
Michael Earl, Director of Human Resources
Department:
Human Resources
Submitted by:
Michael Earl, Director of Human Resources
Subject
Appointment of Gigi Decavalles-Hughes to serve as Interim Director of Finance/City Treasurer Recommendation
Adopt Resolution No. 2024-020 affirming the appointment of Gigi Decavalles-Hughes to serve as Interim Director of Finance/City Treasurer of the City of Vernon and approving and ratifying the execution of a related temporary at-will employment agreement.
Background
Due to the vacant Director of Finance/City Treasurer position, there is a need in the Finance Department to appoint an individual on a limited duration temporary basis to perform special project work and provide extra help in support of the City’s Finance Department functions.
Under Government Code sections 7522.56, 21224, 21227, and 21229, the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) allows contracting agencies to appoint CalPERS retired individuals to fill extra help positions, subject to certain restrictions.
Gigi Decavalles-Hughes has more than twenty-six years of municipal finance experience and possesses the desired experience and specialized skills needed to perform the special project work. She held a variety of positions in the Finance, Human Services, and Housing & Economic Development departments with the City of Santa Monica. During the most recent twelve years of her public sector career, Ms. Decavalles-Hughes served as the City of Santa Monica’s Finance Director/City Treasurer where she directed the budget, investments, financial and revenue operations, and risk management functions for an agency with a $745M budget, $1.5B in net assets, and 2300 full-time equivalent employees. Ms. Decavalles-Hughes holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History from Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania and a Master’s in Urban Planning from New York University.
Ms. Decavalles-Hughes is appointed as a retired annuitant to perform extra help and special project work in the position of Interim Director of Finance/City Treasurer and will be compensated at an hourly rate of approximately $128.25 per hour consistent with the City of Vernon’s publicly available compensation schedule.
The temporary at-will employment agreement between the City and Ms. Decavalles-Hughes has been executed with an effective date of September 4, 2024, and is attached as Exhibit A to Resolution No. 2024-020 . The agreement was reviewed and approved as-to-form by the City Attorney prior to its execution.
At its regular City Council meeting of September 17, 2024, prior to taking final action to approve this resolution, the City Council received an oral report summarizing the recommended appointment and compensation, in accordance with Government Code Section 54953(c)(3).
Fiscal Impact
The fiscal impact is estimated at $123,604. Sufficient funds are available in the General Fund, Finance Department, Salaries Account No. 011-010-130-501010 for the current fiscal year.
Attachments
1. Resolution No. 2024-020
2. Temporary At-Will Employment Agreement Decavalles-Hughes