Council appoints co‑interim city managers and approves employment agreements with limited delegation to fill certain positions

Following closed session on Sept. 16, the Cudahy City Council approved employment agreements appointing Juan Arauos and Richard Iglesias as co‑interim city managers and adopted a staff‑proposed edit that delegates limited hiring authority to the co‑interims for specific classifications.

The city attorney presented an oral edit to the draft agreement under section 2.1(a) to require the co‑interims to “request city council approval prior to any action taken pursuant to section 2.120.0303 of the Cudahy Municipal Code with the exception of the purpose of filling the positions of a permit technician, assistant planner, assistant to the city manager, and finance director.” The council approved the employment agreements with that edit.

Why this matters: the appointments define the city’s interim executive leadership after the city manager’s retirement and provide a limited operational delegation so staff vacancies that support ongoing projects can be filled without delay.

The item was introduced after closed session items that yielded direction but no reportable action. The city attorney said the agreements had been split into two identical contracts for each interim manager and recommended the proposed editorial change to clarify the co‑interims’ hiring authority. The council voted in favor of the agreements; the mayor was absent for the vote.

The agreements give the co‑interim managers authority to manage daily operations; the council preserved discretion to require approval for other actions under the municipal code. The council adopted the agreements and the specified procedural edit; staff will file the final agreements with the city clerk.