SLO hires controversial financial planner

January 16, 2015
Jan Marx

Jan Marx

San Luis Obispo has hired a former Carmel city administrator who left under allegations of misconduct as its interim director of information technology.

San Luis Obispo is paying Jason Stilwell $11,888 per month for leading the 2015-17 financial plan development, according to Stilwell’s contract with San Luis Obispo. The contract was signed on Dec. 18.

In Oct., Stilwell resigned after a three-year stint as Carmel’s city administrator. During that time, Stilwell fired several longtime Carmel city employees, hired former friends and colleagues and awarded lucrative contracts to former cronies. The city of Carmel recently reached settlement agreements with three of the employees terminated by Stilwell that include both cash payouts and the offer of new jobs.

As part of Stilwell’s six-month contract with San Luis Obispo, Stilwell will receive $1,255 per month for family health coverage and paid holidays.

San Luis Obispo Mayor Jan Howell Marx told the Carmel Pine Cone that the city’s finance director had given Stilwell’s hiring his blessing.

“We’re heading into a two-year budget cycle, so the IT area needs more hands-on attention, and the financial planning is something that we really need help in right now,” Marx told the Carmel Pine Cone. “This is an administrative position — this is not something that came to city council at all. I just know about it because I’ve been informed that it happened.”


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Wow. Too bad the rest of us aren’t being paid an extra $1,255 for health coverage (thanks, taxpayers)!


Instead we’re paying about that much (or more).


What a mixed-up world.


So he fired a bunch of folks and gave those lucrative positions to his friends. That’s what elected representatives do all the time. It’s only a natural transgression that people that are appointed to their government positions would take up the practice as well.


Out of the financial accountability fry pan and in to the F I R E — Is this guy the best we can hire with our lavish City of SLO budgets with all of the qualified talent in the marketplace ??


OK … I gotta say this stinks from the get-go.


Where do they dig up these crony hacks …Craigslist ?


Thank You CCN for bringing us information the Trib probably wouldn’t dig up. I don’t want to sound like a shill for CCN, but it’s time to mail another envelope of support to you guys (and ladies).


As to this hiring, we already knew Katie was a glad-handing, disinterested out of town money grubber with questionable talents and practices. Bringing in this apparently-challenged individual probably involves either favoritism or kickback by/to Lichtig. Why else would a supposedly quality manager bring in a person with an immediate-past of actions costing their city money and settlements?


Get a grip, SLO voters, this little bit of paradise is INFESTED with persons in power who I swear commit ATOMIC sized acts of stupidity. malfeasance, misjudgment, waste, fraud, larceny, etc. You’d think someone was running another Hazzard County reality show about Boss Hogg corruption and incompetence.


Sounds like SLO is in desperate need of a write-in campaign!

Time to shake things up SLO.


in order to do that, you would need the majority of people in SLO who think this is wrong.


Mayor Jan Marx: “I just know about it because I’ve been informed that it happened.”


In a normal world, that would be cause for action. In Marx’s world, it’s another excuse to duck and cover. Wow.


Absolutely unbelievable!

What’s not to like?

Sounds like she’s the perfect fit, yet another well paid,

recycled public employee.

Let me guess, she’s making more than the last one

because she’s better qualified and comes with experience…good Lord!


Oops–new employee is a he–Jason.

With the photo of Mayor Marx attached, I assumed she was the new hire.


This should give some comfort to former AG city manager, Steve Adams–

he shouldn’t have a problem finding a new position if the standards are this low.

Who needs ethics anyway?


“In Oct., Stilwell resigned after a three-year stint as Carmel’s city administrator. During that time, Stilwell fired several longtime Carmel city employees, hired former friends and colleagues and awarded lucrative contracts to former cronies. The city of Carmel recently reached settlement agreements with three of the employees terminated by Stilwell that include both cash payouts and the offer of new jobs.”


Jeebus; she sounds like she’ll fit right in with our incompetent city attorney. Perhaps her, the city attorney and the city manager will become the “Three Amigos” of terrorizing most of our city workers? Grab your ankles, residents of San Luis, looks like we’ll be paying out even more for an overpaid, incompetent, vindictive city supervisor position. Sheesh.


Oops, my bad; He sounds like he will fit right in …


so? If you’ve been living under a rock, you’re excused. the hiring practices of the city has been suspect for a long time. They shrug and “Bygones”


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