Watsonville Finance Director Takes Similar Position in Santa Cruz

Twice in one day, Watsonville lost a high-ranking city employee to another municipality.

Marc Pimentel, the director of the Finance Department at the city of Watsonville will step down to take a similar position in Santa Cruz, the Santa Cruz Sentinel reported.

His departure comes just hours after Deputy Police Chief Rudy Escalante was named police chief in Capitola.

Rumors of Pimentel's probable resignation have been swirling around Watsonville for the past week. Then, Pimentel told Patch he had interviewed for the Santa Cruz position but also spoke highly of Watsonville and said it would take a lot to pull him away from his hometown.

"That's a big loss for us," Palacios said, noting that Pimentel will make more money and have a larger staff in Santa Cruz.

The city of Watsonville has struggled with revenue for several years. Budget cuts, layoffs, work furloughs and service reductions have plagued the city as it lost significant amounts of tax revenue during the housing crisis.

"He's a good guy," City Councilman Emilio Martinez said. "I really like him a lot."

Martinez first reported Pimentel's departure in his blog, the Watsonville Fishing Report, a week ago. At that time, Watsonville City Manager Palacios said Pimentel was a finalist for the Santa Cruz position but had not been offered the job.