Questions about who is a member of the Selma City Council — and who isn’t — were answered when the body met for the first time in 2025 on Tuesday night.

And while Fernando Santillan remains the Selma city manager, the council made it easier to remove him

Despite questions from the Fresno County District Attorney’s office and doubts from the city manager and other councilmembers, two councilmembers newly elected in November joined three holdovers to carry on with city business.

Last month, Victor Lai, senior deputy DA and head of the Public Integrity Unit, advised the council in a letter that the newly elected Santiago Oceguera and Jim Avalos could not take their oaths of office until the council’s previous version met and officially declared the election results.

Related Story: When New Selma Council Is Seated, What Happens to City Manager?

New City Attorney Neal Costanzo rebuffed that interpretation, advising the new council it was on solid legal ground. The new council had held two special meetings in December at which it declared the election results and hired Costanzo.

Santillan sided with Lai’s advice, producing an agenda for Tuesday that included an item to accept the election results, and omitted several items the council wanted to discuss. Advised by Costanzo, the council rebuked Santillan’s caution, adding items and moving forward.

Tense but Civil

Tensions between Santillan and Mayor Scott Robertson have been rising for years, although their interaction remained relatively civil.

Robertson and Costanzo publicly said Santillan ignored their requests to include several items. The council then voted to remove the election recognition item and added other items of business.

Normally, under the Brown Act — the state’s open meeting law — any item discussed must be on the agenda ahead of time. Costanzo said attempting to do so would just be ignored by Santillan and “futile.” Under his advice, the council needed four affirmative votes to add items. They did so with a 4-1 vote. John Trujillo, a returning councilmember Zooming into the meeting from Mexico, was the lone dissenter.

Santillan Remains on the Job

One added agenda item involved Santillan’s contract with the city.

In 2023, Robertson and Santillan filed complaints against each other for various slights. An outside investigator found no wrongdoing by Santillan.

To settle Santillan’s complaint, on Nov. 18 — after the election — the lame-duck council approved a contract extension for Santillan. The contract extended Santillan’s employment for five more years through 2032 and required a 5-0 vote to terminate early. Any change would be considered a “constructive termination” and require severance pay of nearly $342,000.

Costanzo advised that the council only needs a majority to make decisions regarding the city manager. He cited city code and state law that said a 5-0 vote would be unenforceable,as would the constructive termination clause.

“It’s a clearly illegal provision,” Costanzo said. He also said the contract vote was not technically part of any settlement agreement.

The council voted 4-1, with Trujillo opposed, to rescind the November contract change. The move means Santillan could be dismissed with three votes instead of five.

Santillan declined to comment when asked by GV Wire.

Constanzo’s Contract

The council also added to the closed session agenda a performance evaluation for “all positions and departments.” The city council announced no action.

The council approved Costanzo’s contract 5-0 on the consent agenda. The council appointed Costanzo on Dec. 12 during a special meeting among the “new” city council, firing its prior firm.

Lai warned such action could be voided because the new council was not official yet. The issue became somewhat moot when Megan Crouch of Hanford-based firm Griswold, LaSalle, Cobb, Dowd & Gin resigned.

Costanzo and his firm will be paid a $7,500 monthly retainer fee, which covers most work related to city meetings, plus an hourly rate between $250 and $325 an hour for other services.

In some other actions — all added to the agenda — the council rescinded changing the city logo, keeping the current image in place. The vote was 4-1, with Trujillo opposed. And, the council directed staff to add more trees and lights to the downtown area.

Underlying Tension?

At least 20 minutes before the meeting, Robertson and his council allies — Sarah Guerra, Oceguera, and Avalas — were seated at the dais. Now-former councilmembers Blanca Mendoza-Navarro and Beverly Cho later joined them.

Mendoza-Navarro’s place on the dais and permission to deliver a farewell speech came as somewhat of a surprise. In a Jan. 4, email, Robertson said he would remove Mendoza-Navarro from the meeting if she was disruptive, and comments would have to be delivered from a podium.

Santillan presented Mendoza-Navarro and Cho with plaques and gratitude for their time on the council.

At one point, Robertson referred to Trujillo just by his last name. He quickly corrected himself, referring to his colleague as “Councilman Trujillo.” In the past, Robertson filed a harassment complaint against Santillan, in part because the city manager failed to address Robertson as “mayor.”

Costanzo sat in the seat on the dais usually occupied by Santillan.

Santillan called it “a little bit of confusion” as he sat at a table in front of the dais for the first part of the meeting. He eventually moved to the dais — where the city attorney normally sits — as the city clerk shuffled nameplates during a recess.

At the end of the meeting, Trujillo asked to read a statement into the record, which was declined by Robertson.

Trujillo shared a copy of the comments with GV Wire, criticizing Robertson for calling for two special meetings in December. He also criticized Costanzo’s record.

“My goal is to continue moving this city forward, but I do ask that this council fully vet Mr. Costanzo and determine if hiring him for the third time is in the best interest of the residents of Selma. If he is hired, know that I will be monitoring his changes to this city and his actions,” Trujillo wrote.