So, what does it take to lure a new city manager to come work for the town of Atherton?
In the case of Jerry Gruber, who’s been on the job since Monday, Jan. 14, the Atherton City Council offered a $145,000 annual salary, a $400 monthly car allowance and up to $20,000 in relocation expenses.
The council voted unanimously to approve the contract with Mr. Gruber at the end of its Jan. 16 meeting, sometime around midnight, said City Attorney Marc Hynes. The contract was dated retroactively, as Mr. Gruber had already been on the job for three days.
Mr. Gruber is the former general manager of the Department of Water and Power for the city of Big Bear Lake in San Bernardino County. He is married with two grown daughters, and has a master’s degree in public administration. His wife Melanie, a school teacher, plans to move to Atherton in July to join him, Mr. Gruber said.
In addition to the salary, plus medical and pension benefits, Mr. Gruber’s contract includes a requirement that he live in the town-owned home at Holbrook-Palmer Park. Besides providing the house rent-free, the town is also providing a $200,000 remodeling allowance for mutually agreeable renovations to the house.
A clause in the contract states that, if the council changes his job description so that he no longer has to live in the town-owned home, Mr. Gruber can borrow $400,000 from the town for the purchase of a home within a one-hour drive of Atherton.
The contract also specifies that Mr. Gruber “will devote his full time to his duties and agrees that he will not, so long as he is employed by the town, take any employment that will interfere or be inconsistent with the performance of his duties as city manager.”
