The Gustine City Council unanimously approved the hiring of Soknirom Than as the new city manager.

The resolution was made at the City Council meeting on Feb. 24.

The city manager position was vacated by Anna Nicholas on Aug. 22, 2023. Administrative Services Director Melanie Correa served as the interim city manager until her hours maxed out recently and the city council approved hiring back Brad Kilger to serve as the interim while the search continued. It turned out that the Feb. 24 meeting was Kilger’s first and last meeting.

The City had contracted with Ralph Anderson and Associates to conduct the search for a new city manager but the efforts were not successful. But over the holidays, Than turned in an application and was subsequently interviewed for the position.

Than comes to Gustine from the City of Los Banos, where he most recently served as the Public Works Director.

The employee contract states Than will make an annual salary of $150,000, which is comparable to other local cities and to what Nicholas was earning.

The contract states that Than will have an evaluation by the City Council six months after his start day and then it will be done annually.

The employment contract starts on March 4. The initial contract runs through June 30, 2027, unless terminated by either party. There is an optional two-year extension. If the evaluation in June 2025 is meets expectations, exceeds expectations, or is outstanding then Than will get either an increase of 3 percent or the annual Consumer Price Index for the region, whichever is less.