By BILL PETERSON
Editor at Large

BUDA – The housing economy that as crippled much of America forced a rippling effect on Buda this week when Jennifer Tubbs declined the city’s offer to become its new city manager.

Tubbs, the Township Manager in Watertown, MI (population 4,100), told the city Wednesday that she will be unable to accept the position because the city’s increased salary offer still won’t enable her to support her family while her house in Michigan is on the market.

“Although your final offer is generous, I am afraid that after meeting with a realtor, it is extremely unlikely in the current Michigan economy that I would be able to sell my home within 6 months,” Tubbs said in a July 9 letter addressed to Buda Mayor Bobby Lane. “Given the significant increased costs for benefits from what I now have, the salary increase would not be enough for me to be able to support two households until my house in Michigan sold.”

The city posted the position originally in the low $90,000s, but subsequent negotiations pushed Buda’s final salary offer a little higher.

Tubbs noted that had the difficulty of selling a house in Michigan not become an issue, “I would have been willing to accept most of your final offer, even with several sections substantially lower than what I have come to know as the industry standard.”

In her letter, Tubbs alluded to the severance section and an apparent clause she wanted to ensure time off for her family. Tubbs said she believes the severance section would have become irrelevant once she put herself to the job, and said the city would certainly see from her work habits why she would need time for her family.

The city council will mull its next move at Tuesday night’s meeting. The Buda council voted unanimously for Tubbs at its July 1 meeting, following a round of interviews with five finalists on June 28. The other candidates were Belinda Espinosa from Pinole, CA, Dennis McDuffie from McGregor, TX, Michael Miller from Farmington, NM, and Dion Miller from Mineola, TX.

Interim City Manager Sarah Mangham said the council could go in any direction, from going back to one of the other finalists to starting its search again.

“They might even discuss if they want to look at the next few that didn’t make the last cut, but I don’t want to put words in their mouth,” she said.

Buda began looking for a new city manager in February, when Robert Camareno resigned to take a position with the city of New Braunfels.

Download: Tubbs’ final response to Buda