Jul 18, 2008

City hires full-time public works chief

By Mark Abramson / Daily News Staff Writer

San Carlos has hired a full-time public works director to replace an independent contractor, whose contract raised some eyebrows recently when the city agreed to boost his pay.

Robert Weil, the public works director in American Canyon for the past five years, is scheduled to start his new job with San Carlos on Sept. 2. He will replace Parviz Mokhtari, who has been retained for several years as an independent contractor.

"He has good experience with municipal work, and he has had a lot of experience with capital improvement programs," City Manager Mark Weiss said.

Weiss said the city received about 40 applicants for the position and a job search firm helped narrow down the choices.

Weil, 49, is also a graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. He served as an executive assistant at the Maritime Security Division when he was called back to active duty for two years on Sept. 12, 2001. He has also worked as a civil engineer in Santa Rosa and Novato and was a facilities engineer at the U.S. Coast Guard's Training Center in Petaluma.

He said he was attracted to the position because "San Carlos is a high quality city with great leadership by the city manager and the city council."

During Weil's tenure with American Canyon, the city was named No. 11 on Forbes Magazine's list for living and launching a small business. He said he believes the city's infrastructure and the services provided by the public works department helped earn that distinction.

Weil will earn $163,119 a year plus benefits. Mokhtari is earning $210,000 as a retainer, plus fees of $90 to $100 an hour for any outside subcontracting work. Mokhtari was the former public works director before he became an independent contractor more than seven years ago. He got a raise of $2,600 over six months, effective July 1.

Mokhtari will stay with the city until December to help with the transition, Weiss said.

"The advantages of having the full-time employee is he owes his whole allegiance to the city of San Carlos rather than having multiple clients," Weiss said. "There have been questions here about whether or not it is appropriate for independent contractors to supervise rank and file employees."

Hiring a full-time public works director was not done to save money - with benefits it could cost more, Weiss said.

One vocal critic of increasing Mokhtari's pay and using an independent contractor is Council Member Matt Grocott.

"What I'm getting now from (Council Member) Omar (Ahmad) and the city manager, who have obviously talked, is we technically didn't give Parviz a raise. He raised his fees and we accepted what the fees are - which to me is a slap in the face to the city" because he was already well-paid, Grocott said.

"Even if it doesn't save us money, it gets us out of a legal gray zone," he said about Weil's hiring.



E-mail Mark Abramson at mabramson@dailynewsgroup.com.