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By Brian Hews
A lame duck Artesia City Council met in closed session on Monday night to hire William Rawlings as its full time city manager.
Rawlings has been serving as Interim City Manager for Artesia since May 6 of this year after longtime city manager Maria Dadian retired from the position in 2012.
Participating in the negotiations and final vote to hire Rawlings was city councilman John Lyon who was defeated by voters for reelection during the November 5th election in favor of businessman Ali Taj.
Councilman-Elect Taj was not allowed to participate in the hiring process of Rawlings and was legally prohibited from being involved in negotiating the terms and conditions of the deal.
Lyon, along with current Mayor Sally Flowers, Mayor pro-Tem Tony Lima and City Council members Victor Manalo and Miguel Canales all voted to hire Rawlings for an undisclosed amount.
Rawlings new contract was not available to members of the media or public on Tuesday morning, according to City Clerk Gloria Considine.
Hews Media Group-Community Newspaper did receive a copy of Rawling’s employment agreement as Interim City Manager, where he is listed as being paid $156,000 per year.
Considine would not reveal the actual terms and conditions of Rawlings new contract, telling HMG-CN that the city attorney was in the process of executing the final contract.
Taj will be officially sworn into office during the first week of December.
