Yucaipa '1 councilmembers were told at their Nov. 6 meeting that residents want clearer, earlier information about the city manager search and caution in contract negotiations.

"I appreciate what you guys are doing because I in my mind, what you're trying to do is get us a city manager as soon as possible," said Hanson Wong, a District 1 resident of Yucaipa, during the public-comment period. Wong told the council that, while he understood human resources limits on naming applicants, sharing what the council is looking for and how many applicants and finalists exist would improve transparency and public confidence.

Holly Warner, another resident who addressed the council, said the public's concern should extend to contract terms if a finalist is selected. "I think that we should be wary of unfunded liabilities in the contract negotiations, particularly including retirement and medical benefits, for the candidate and their family," Warner said. She suggested aligning long-term benefits with years of service, extending probationary periods, and weighing the optics of any salary relative to Yucaipa's per-capita income. "I hope you'll consider that, Yucaipa's, per capita income. It's $38,468," Warner said.

Warner also relayed a message from Cherylin Long, who was unable to attend. Warner said Long asked the council to avoid sweetheart contracts or any appearance of conflicts of interest.

Following public comment, the council recessed to closed session at about 6:36 a.m. and reconvened in the chamber at roughly 7:18 a.m. After the closed session the city attorney reported "no reportable action this morning." Mayor (unnamed in the transcript) then asked Jennifer (City Clerk) to work with Henry (staff referenced by name) to get "a press release out today about our timeline of the selection process and some bullet points," a direction Jennifer acknowledged the council had requested.

The meeting record clarifies that council members present included Bieber, Woolsey, Mayor Pro Tem Benable and Mayor Thorpe; Council member Miller participated by telephone earlier in the meeting but the clerk later noted Miller was not present for the reconvened session.

Discussion vs. decisions: the public comments were advisory and the only formal post-closed-session actions recorded in the meeting transcript were the city attorney's statement that no reportable action occurred and the council's direction to staff to prepare a public timeline and bullet points about the city manager selection process. No votes or contract terms were approved during the meeting.

City staff and the council did not provide a count of applicants or finalists during the meeting; those numbers were not specified in the transcript. Warner cited comparative per-capita income figures spoken during public comment: Yucaipa $38,468; San Bernardino County $51,194; Orange County $88,897.