Poll: How Should Hercules Fill Its Top Finance Spot?

The Hercules City Council is divided on the issue of how the city should fill the city’s top finance position.

Hercules uses a finance director that is hired by and reports to the city manager. The current finance director is with Hercules on an interim basis, and the city is looking for a permanent replacement.

Councilwoman Myrna de Vera the idea of using an elected finance director to divert some of the city manager’s hiring and firing power to Hercules residents. The city is unable to make the finance director position an elected official, but it could use an elected city treasurer. Switching to a city treasurer would also require Hercules to switch to a charter city.

The council discussed the issue at its Jan. 24 meeting.

Council members were divided on how to fill the spot with Vice Mayor John Delgado and Councilwoman Myrna de Vera supporting further investigation into the possibility of using a finance director who would report to the council instead of the city manager. Mayor Dan Romero and councilmen Gerard Boulanger and William Wilkins supported the continued use of a finance director.

Read Contra Costa Times coverage here.