Hollister City Manager Bill Avera announced during the Feb. 19 Hollister City Council meeting that he intends to retire.
Avera told BenitoLink he chose Nov. 15 as his final day as a matter of timing. He said under the CalPERS system, employees’ retirement is based on age. He will have just turned 52 at the time of his retirement, after working for the city for 25 years.
Avera started with the city in Nov. 1994. He spent most of his career working for the Redevelopment Agency. He was promoted in 2003 to department head and ultimately led the Development Services department. In 2013, he became interim city manager and six months later took over the position full-time.
He said the most rewarding part of his job as city manager occurred as the city was coming out of the Great Recession.
“It was exciting being able to bring the city back up,” Avera said, but added, “What I’m probably most proud of, however, is when I was with the Redevelopment Agency from 1994 to about 2008. We provided an enormous amount of affordable housing. That was the most satisfying part of the job.”
Avera said he’s not sure what he will do after he retires. His wife Julie is still working and his daughter Kali recently graduated from San Jose State with a degree in justice administration. Kali works at the Santa Clara County Supreme Court but still lives at home.
Avera said he’s often thought of teaching.
“Maybe I’ll have the opportunity to get into education,” he said. “When I was in college I wanted to be a history teacher. I have a map on the wall that I’ve drawn on and at some point we hope to do some traveling.”