PARLIER – The city of Parlier has yet another staff member taking on an interim role after the elected city clerk resigned from her position earlier this summer.
The Parlier City Council voted 4-1 on Sept. 4 to appoint Assistant City Manager Bertha Escalera as the interim city clerk, meaning she will serve in both roles and act as the custodian of the city’s records. Lina Martinez, who was elected to the position in November 2024, resigned due to a conflict of interest with employment in another city; she is now the appointed city clerk in Sanger.
“Our analysis is based on the facts, the evidence, the recommendations of legal counsel — it’s really in the best interest of the city of Parlier to appoint (Escalera) as the interim city clerk,” City Attorney Meggin Boranian said.
Boranian said there would be no fiscal impact to the city at this time and Escalera’s appointment would allow Parlier to make the best use of its resources and staff time. The appointment will be good through the next election, she said, and the council can at a later time revisit the topic and possibly discuss if they want to keep the city clerk as an elected position or take it to the voters to turn it into an appointed position.
Boranian also noted, in response to a question she received prior to the meeting, that Escalera would be entitled to the stipend that was provided to the elected city clerk on top of her regular pay.
Although Escalera’s compensation is ultimately up to the city manager, not the council, Mayor Alma Beltran asked if she would be receiving double the extra pay for being the interim city clerk. This is because Escalera has also served as the deputy city clerk for many years, filling in for the previous elected city clerk who had scheduling conflicts, and receives “extra assignment” pay for those duties.
Regardless of what Escalera’s compensation is or if she receives the city clerk’s stipend, the city’s budget will stay the same.
“I’m asking because I don’t want us to double dip and pay her for two positions that are the same duties … whether it’s a small amount or a large amount; I’m just saying because it’s the same compensation,” Beltran said. “That’s my concern.”
After some back-and-forth between Beltran and Boranian about what the council was being asked to do and who has the power to determine Escalera’s pay, Beltran asked for a motion from the council. She said they could approve the recommendation as-is — meaning they would appoint Escalera and leave it at that — or make a motion to approve the appointment and bring it back with clarification as to whether Escalera would be compensated for both city clerk positions.
“If the council wants to go ahead and just move forward with that and not check into it, then that’s up to them too,” Beltran said.
Councilmember Diego Garza motioned to leave the recommendation as-is, with Councilmember Janie Molina seconding the motion. This prompted Beltran to ask for a roll call vote; Beltran voted against the action.
Councilmember Kathy Solorio became confused about what the motion was exactly during the roll call vote and, despite voting in favor of the motion, said she wanted the city manager to bring back the issue of Escalera’s pay.
At the end of everything, Boranian clarified that the council approved Escalera’s appointment to the interim city clerk position, and directed the city manager to inform the council if there’s any more money involved.
“That’s what the motion should have been,” Beltran said.
Carport code enforcement
During the Sept. 4 meeting, the council also heard from multiple residents who recently received notices of code violations related to carports on their properties. The residents said that they were informed by the city’s code enforcement officer that they needed to tear down their carport structures because they did not receive permits to build them and they violated city laws.
However, residents said that when they first built their carports, they went to previous city staff members to ask about whether or not they needed to get permission, and the staff members said no. The carports in question are structures that residents had specially built — not movable tents — and spent thousands of dollars on.
One resident said that if the city had informed them that it wasn’t allowed, they wouldn’t have built their carport or spent so much money. Further, she said that if it’s a matter of paying a fee for a permit, they are all willing to do that.
Residents and the council also pointed out that the city’s ordinance related to carports was last updated in 1968. Even before all of those who visited the council meeting to speak on the matter could explain their issue, the council agreed with the residents that something needs to be done to update the city’s codes and allow residents to keep their carports.
“I know that we were looking, in the past, into fixing that, because I know that a lot of our ordinances are very outdated,” Beltran said.
Beltran and the rest of the council directed City Manager Aaron Palmer to look into the ordinance and see what could be done for the impacted residents. In the meantime, there will be no code enforcement of carports in the city.
Contract approvals
In other news, the council also took action on funding and contracts for roadwork, as well as renewing the city’s contract with its lobbying firm.
The council voted 4-0-1, with Beltran abstaining, to continue the city’s agreement with Townsend Public Affairs through June 30, 2026. Townsend provides Parlier with legislative advocacy and grant writing services, aiding in the city’s work to secure state and national earmarks from elected representatives and funding for various projects like the police station remodel.
Parlier currently pays Townsend a monthly fee of $3,500 in exchange for its services. Council members told representatives from Townsend that they are happy with the work being done on Parlier’s behalf, but would like to see updates and communication from Townsend on a regular basis.
The council unanimously approved a resolution claiming Measure C program funds from the Fresno County Transportation Authority. From these funds, which each city in the county receives a portion of every year, Parlier will be able to access approximately $8,000 for ADA compliance, $293,000 in flexible funding and $240,000 for street maintenance.
The council also unanimously awarded a contract for the 2025 road rehabilitation project to construction company VSS International. City Engineer Javier Andrade explained that the city received two bids for the project, which involves maintenance along various roads around the city, and VSS International submitted the lowest bid of approximately $510,000. The project will be paid for with money from the state’s SB 1 road maintenance fund.
