- In this video, California City Acting City Manager Joe Barragan says he does not want to be the permanent city manager but he wants to help the city in a different role.
- There have been six city managers within the past three years in California City. The City is in recovery after a 2021-22 Kern County grand jury report described leadership as being in "crisis mode."
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
The job as city manager appears to be a position no one really wants. There have been six city managers within the past three years. And, the revolving door continues.
“It’s a difficult job. I personally don’t want to be the permanent city manager. This is a temporary position for me,” said Joe Barragan, California City's Acting City Manager.
Joe Barragan says he loves California City, and when asked to become acting city manager about a month ago he agreed -- because he wanted to help Cal City’s progress.
Then he quickly realized what a complex situation he stepped into. A Kern County grand jury report from a year ago detailed a city in disarray.
It read: “... to describe Cal City’s leadership as being in ‘crisis mode,’ is an understatement. California City’s leadership must be stabilized with qualified department heads for Cal City to survive. The practice of filling leadership positions with interim staff is not sufficient for long-term good governance.”
Still, Barragan would rather someone else become the permanent city manager.
“You deal with a lot of unreasonable people at different levels, multiple levels, and it’s just tough," Barragan said. "It’s a big city. It has a lot of challenges. Our roads, our water lines, it always seems like we’re understaffed and overworked. There’s just a lot of challenges at this position.”
Mayor Kelly Kulikoff, who had been on council previously, says it’s difficult to attract long-term management to the desert town. and says they're continuing to look for a permanent solution.
“We’re moving the city forward," Kulikoff said. "Through management, we have taken steps, through each management cycle, to move the city a little bit further. So once we get that permanent city manager we should be on that full road to recovery.”
Barragan says much of the work can be overwhelming.
“It seems like there’s never enough funding to get done what needs to be done," Barragan said.
Barragan is looking forward to the end of his term very soon. The city will be conducting interviews for a permanent position this month.
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