GALT, CA (MPG) - Galt’s interim City Manager Chris Erias is looking forward to completing his career in the same city where he spent 15 years overseeing planning.

Erias spoke with the Herald about four months into his yearlong contract to discuss his approach to the role and what brought him back to Galt after three-and-a-half years in Manteca.

Erias first began working in the city of Galt Community Development Department as a planner in 2005, eventually becoming the department head. In 2020, he left to become Development Services director for the city of Manteca. Following the resignation of former Galt City Manager Lorenzo Hines this past February, Galt City Council hired Erias on an interim basis. He will fill the position for a minimum of one year and the city can allow the appointment to be renewed for additional one-year terms.

When Erias sat down with the Herald, he had recently finished his first time overseeing the city budget process. City Council passed the two-year budget on June 18.

Erias said some of the work had been completed under Hines, so much of his work involved choosing how to present the budget to City Council and how to explain funding requests. He said that City Council was “a joy to work with through that process.”

Asked about his goals as interim city manager, Erias said his main focus is implementing the policies of City Council. He praised City Council’s Strategic Plan, which explains the councilmembers’ main priorities. 

Three priorities that stand out to him are maintaining and improving quality of life, cultivating staff and developing the economy.

“The top goal … is to maintain and improve the quality of life of the people who live, work and do business in the community. And so that is the No. 1 goal of government, regardless of level,” Erias said.

Professional development for staff comes in the form of promotional and training opportunities, as well as addressing the city’s level of compensation, according to Erias.

“We all understand that Galt will never pay what the bigger cities do; we just can’t afford that. But we always try to close the gap,” Erias said, commending the pay decisions that City Council has made in union negotiations.

On economic development, Erias wanted to bring more businesses to Galt “that provide the amenities that people want so they don’t have to leave town to go out to eat, to go out to shop.”

Drawing in businesses also provides the city with more revenue, Erias said.

Erias said he envisions concluding his career in Galt. He had been planning to retire after working in Manteca but delayed his plans for the Galt role.

Erias described his decade and a half in Galt Community Development as “something of a happy accident.”

He started out working for the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency and then, searching for a growing community to spend just a couple of years in, settled on Galt.

“When I was hitting my two years (in 2007), the market tanked, so there was really nowhere to go. So I always say I got stuck in Galt but it was the best thing that ever happened. And Galt offered things that I didn’t think about until I got here.”

Erias said the city’s small size allowed him to follow projects from start to finish, rather than needing to specialize in a narrow part of the process.

“Here in Galt, you get a little bit of everything, so I’ve just come to really love the town,” Erias said.

Erias remarked on the ways in which Galt is the same as it was when he left. The population was estimated at about 25,800 in 2023, just a little larger than in the 2020 Census. He had expected it to be approaching 30,000.

“Even though we’re building homes and getting units, I think it underscores that demographic of how many people are in a household has really changed,” Erias said. He was pleased to see some housing projects that he had worked on coming to fruition.

One “fun” aspect of coming back was reconnecting with many of the people Erias knew during his first time with the city.

“I know and worked with a lot of the staff that are currently here. A lot of the community members that have been around for a while, they’re still here. So it’s really good to see there hasn’t been much change there,” Erias said. 

The time in Manteca helped prepare Erias to become city manager. As development services director, Erias said, he managed a limited number of professionals who then oversaw their own divisions, which he compared to a city manager directing department heads.

“I think the transition from community development director in Galt to development services director in Manteca, then interim city manager in Galt is kind of a good transition and helped prepare me for this position,” Erias said.

With a background in development, Erias said, he looks at Galt through a “planner’s lens,” thinking about where the city will be in the next few years and decades.

“To me, though, that’s a good thing so we don’t make decisions on a short-term basis. We’re always looking for the long-term interest for the city of Galt,” Erias said. 

Erias added that he aims to maintain a broader view of the city, balancing his interest in development and other areas.

Asked about city government’s role in residents’ everyday lives, Erias pointed first to everyday quality-of-life duties, such as ensuring clean drinking water and reliable sewage, “things probably most people, including myself, take for granted because you don’t think about because it is a big operation and it takes a lot to keep it functioning.”

Besides public safety and recreation opportunities, Erias also cited efforts to keep the city clean, an area he said the city is working on improving.

“Those are things we intend to improve on and are currently working on,” Erias said.

Erias said the city’s residents are the biggest reason for his returning as interim city manager.

“The best part of the town, and I’ve told this to people many times, is the people,” Erias said. “I’ve always gotten along great with the staff. The community here has always been warm and great to work with.”