Wilkinson consulting in limited capacity, city says
Spokesman: ‘Nothing nefarious is going on.’
Following his retirement last month, former Yuma City Administrator Greg Wilkinson has been acting as a consultant to the city on a limited capacity.
In a statement released Monday, the city “addressed rumors” surrounding the work Wilkinson has been doing for the city.
“During his 9 years in the position, Wilkinson accumulated a wealth of institutional knowledge about the organization, personnel and projects on which he worked or were in progress. As such, the City values the ability to contact Wilkinson to expound on this knowledge as needed. Such contacts may occur in certain instances. The ability for the City to contact Wilkinson will continue for a short period of time,” the statement reads.
City spokesman Dave Nash said the city has no choice but to reach out to Wilkinson, who made himself available, on certain issues. However, he noted, some residents are “blowing out of proportion” the nature of the work being done by Wilkinson.
“Nothing nefarious is going on,” Nash said. “Greg doesn’t have a desk here, he doesn’t have a phone extension. The only way to get a hold of him is to call him. I haven’t had any contact with him.”
He noted that Wilkinson is being compensated for his assistance. “Every time someone calls him, can you call it consulting? Absolutely, he’s on the clock for those five, 10 minutes, and he gets paid for those five, 10 minutes,” Nash said.
The city expects this transition period to continue “for less than a month.” The new administrator’s “emphasis is on moving forward,” Nash added.
In the statement, Interim City Administrator Jay Simonton said, “There are a lot of positive developments within the City organization and the community as a whole. We are moving forward.”
Wilkinson announced his retirement April 25 after nine years in the position. The City Council accepted the resignation at a special meeting April 26 and named Simonton the interim city administrator. Simonton assumed all the duties of the office at that time and makes all the decisions assigned to the posi
tion of city administrator, according to the statement.
The Yuma Sun has repeatedly asked for details of the severance package. Nash said that under federal labor and employment law, Wilkinson was entitled to a minimum of 21 days to review the agreement and decide whether to accept it. That minimum period has now passed.
Nash said the severance package is in the hands of the council members and city attorneys are debating and “seeking clarity” on whether it can be released as a public record or if it’s a personnel matter. Personnel issues are kept private, however, Wilkinson’s last contract, approved Jan. 18, 2018, appeared on the agenda as a public record.
Wilkinson had served as city administrator since 2010 after Mark Watson’s resignation. Before that, he served as assistant director of information technology services and telecommunications.
In a statement, Wilkinson said, “Over the last 20 years I have made many decisions while I have been with the City. Every decision I have made is for what is best for the community. We have accomplished so many great things with the team we have here with many more coming. Having retired twice before I have had several discussions with Mayor and Council and City Staff and have chosen that this is another time to retire again. I am currently looking at a few other job opportunities floating my way which I plan to look at after taking some time off.”
Wilkinson’s decision followed pressure from citizens after recently retired Police Chief John Lekan told the council during an April 17 call to the public that he did not approve an award for Sgt. Henry Valenzuela because Wilkinson threatened employment or pay raises for police officers if Valenzuela received the Supervisor of the Year award. Recently appointed Police Chief Susan Smith presented Valenzuela with the award on May 15.
Valenzuela has been one of Wilkinson’s most vocal critics. According to a Yuma County Sheriff’s Office report, Wilkinson accused Valenzuela, former mayor Phil Clark and attorney Will Katz of harassing and threatening him, city employees and council members. A YCSO investigator said that he “did not see the criminal elements met for harassment when it pertains to a public official,” and a La Paz county attorney declined to file charges of harassment and threats against the three.