National City council approves personnel moves, hires and outside counsel for 2024 flood claims

The National City Council approved a series of personnel items, contracts and consent items including promotions, new hires, and contracting outside counsel for litigation tied to the January 2024 rains.

Director of Community Development Martin Reeder announced the promotion of Sofia Depew to associate planner, citing her degree from UC Davis and her service since April 2024. The council also introduced Tony Lemons as the new community services manager, noting his decade of municipal recreation experience, and Brian Kreps (acting deputy city manager) introduced four new fire recruits currently in the internal fire academy.

On staffing, the council approved adding an Executive Assistant II position to the Police Department chart with the understanding that a different position would be left unfilled so there would not be an additional filled headcount; staff clarified the immediate fiscal impact would be roughly $7,000 for the remainder of the year once finance calculations reflect the net change.

Separately, the council approved a contract with an outside law firm to represent the city in litigation related to storm‑drain and flood claims from January 2024. Public commenters and at least one resident speaker objected to an open‑ended contract with lead and associate counsel hourly rates stated in public comment (the speaker cited $400/hour for the lead attorney and $250/hour for associates) and urged the city to consider local counsel; council members said continuity and fiduciary duty to protect the city’s interests justified the selection.

Votes and procedural notes: consent items were moved and approved; individual motions to approve the staffing change and the outside‑counsel contract were seconded and passed (the transcript records one absentee or absence for some votes). The council also approved routine warrant‑registry items and passed a roofing contract for the Martin Luther King Community Center.

What happens next: HR and finance will finalize the fiscal‑impact details for the police staffing change and adjust budget documents as needed; the outside counsel contract is authorized per the motion.