Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Local Government Actions topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Ross council approves new police chief contract, fee schedule and two design‑review variances
Summary
The council unanimously approved resolutions hiring Raul Ernesto Aguilar as police chief, adopting an updated fee schedule, and approving design review variances at 5 and 3 Allen avenues; the council also amended the town manager’s vacation cap.
Town of Ross — The Town Council unanimously adopted several resolutions covering personnel, planning and fees during its meeting.
Police chief: Council adopted Resolution 2618 approving an employment agreement with Raul Ernesto Aguilar to serve as Ross police chief from April 27, 2026 through June 30, 2029 and amended the town’s salary schedule accordingly. The council voted by roll call (Mayor McMillan: yes; Mayor Prom Robbins: yes; Council member Kercher: yes; Council member Dalling/Dowling: yes). After the vote the council introduced Chief Aguilar to the assembled audience; Aguilar thanked the council and said he was committed “to leading the department with integrity, accountability, and transparency.”
Planning approvals: The council approved two design‑review and variance requests: Resolution 2615 for 5 Allen Avenue and Resolution 2614 for 3 Allen Avenue. Staff reported both projects had ADR (Architectural Design Review) support (vote counts at ADR were reported as 3–0) and described measures the applicants took to increase setbacks and manage on‑site parking. Both resolutions were adopted by roll call, with all four voting members recorded as yes.
Fee schedule: The council adopted Resolution 2611 to amend the town fee schedule based on an NBS fee study. Staff and consultant Nicole Kissum summarized a cost‑of‑service analysis that updated fees for planning, building, public works, police and administrative services with an intended effective date of July 1. The presentation concluded the town currently collects about $1.3 million in fees while the analysis shows defensible cost recovery of about $1.6 million across studied programs; council approved the fee schedule by roll call (4–0).
Town Manager agreement: The council adopted Resolution 2617 amending the town manager’s employment agreement to raise the vacation leave cap from 300 to 400 hours, a change council members said was to avoid penalizing the manager for carrying unused vacation during heavy workloads.
How the council voted: For the resolutions listed above the roll‑call vote as read in the meeting recorded Mayor McMillan, Mayor Prom Robbins, Council member Kercher and one other council member voting yes; the meeting transcript records each motion as passing unanimously where votes were called.
Why it matters: The actions put a new police chief under contract, adjust the town’s fees to better match cost of service, and clear two private development requests to proceed under conditions the council accepted. The amendment to the town manager’s contract addresses personnel retention and workload issues.
What’s next: The new chief’s start date is April 27 and the council planned a swearing‑in and celebration; the revised fee schedule will become effective July 1. Planning permits will proceed under the terms of the adopted resolutions.
