Nearly a decade after retiring from City Hall, former City Clerk Bonnie Paige could return Tuesday to take over an office that has spent weeks at the center of political turmoil.

The Stockton City Council will consider appointing Paige as interim clerk while it searches for a permanent replacement for Katherine Roland, whose resignation takes effect Sept. 26. Her possible appointment is one of the most consequential items on the council agenda this week.

Councilmembers will also consider nearly $400,000 in incentives aimed at persistent staffing shortages in police emergency communications and the Fire Department. A separate issue involving the qualifications of councilmembers — raised at the council’s previous meeting — is absent from Tuesday’s agenda.

Vice Mayor Jason Lee will participate remotely from the Los Angeles headquarters of Hollywood Unlocked, the entertainment media company he founded. Councilmember Mario Enríquez will join from a hotel business center in Washington, D.C.

The agenda does not state why either councilmember will be out of Stockton.

Former city clerk could return after nearly a decade

Paige would return to City Hall more than nine years after retiring from the city, where she worked for over 28 years and served as city clerk from 2011 to 2017.

She previously served as assistant city clerk before the City Council unanimously selected her in 2011 to replace retiring City Clerk Katherine Gong Meissner. City records show Paige’s appointment took effect that July. When she retired in 2017, the city formally recognized her for more than 28 years of service. 

Her proposed return comes less than three weeks after Roland submitted her resignation, effective Sept. 26, following weeks of uncertainty over her position and disputes involving the City Clerk’s Office. Roland said she would work remotely through her final day while wrapping up pending projects and assisting with the transition. 

Under the proposal, Paige would begin serving as interim clerk Sept. 16 and earn $93.11 per hour without city benefits. Her appointment would be temporary while the city searches for a permanent replacement.

Paige would start 11 days before Roland’s resignation takes effect. Her contract says the city clerk position will become vacant Sept. 27, but the agenda packet does not explain how Paige and Roland would divide responsibilities during the overlap.

State law allows the city temporarily rehire experienced retirees like Paige while it searches for a permanent replacement.

City proposes nearly $400,000 in public safety staffing incentives

The council will consider nearly $400,000 in incentives aimed at filling vacancies and keeping employees in two public safety operations.

The Police Department currently has 10 vacancies among 48 telecommunications positions covered by the proposal. City staff said Stockton continues to struggle with recruiting and retaining employees who handle emergency communications, even after using a similar incentive program that expired in June.

Under the new program, first-time hires would be eligible for a $10,000 signing bonus. They would receive $2,500 shortly after starting and the remaining $7,500 after completing one year with the city. Current telecommunications employees would receive $3,000 retention payments this year and another $3,000 in 2027 if they remain employed.

The city estimates the police incentives would cost about $338,000 and would pay for them through salary savings.

The Fire Department is proposing a different approach to four vacant firefighter engineer positions: paying current firefighters to move up.

Firefighter engineers operate and maintain fire engines and other equipment while supporting emergency responses. Staff said the department relies on experienced employees filling those positions to maintain emergency response staffing.

Eligible firefighters who promote to engineer would receive $15,000 — half after the promotion and half after completing one year in the position. Filling all four vacancies through the program would cost about $60,000, also paid through salary savings.

Together, the two programs could cost about $398,000.

Councilmember qualifications discussion remains off Tuesday’s agenda

A separate issue raised at the council’s previous meeting will not return Tuesday.

During the Sept. 1 meeting, Councilmember Brando Villapudua requested discussion of Section 407 of the City Charter, according to the city’s draft minutes. The meeting record does not identify a specific councilmember or explain what prompted the request.

The charter gives the City Council authority to judge the election and qualifications of its members, including residency. It also requires councilmembers to live in the districts they represent and says a member who moves out of the district during a term automatically forfeits the office.

Residency questions involving sitting councilmembers have surfaced in Stockton, but the only publicly documented pending challenge Stocktonia could confirm involves Vice Mayor Jason Lee.

The California Attorney General’s Office is considering a quo warranto application asking whether Lee, whose full name is Jason Lee Johnson, has satisfied the residency requirements to serve on the Stockton City Council. The Attorney General’s Opinion Unit took up the matter in October 2025, and the office still lists it as pending.

A quo warranto action determines whether a public official has the legal right to hold office, including whether the official meets residency requirements. The Attorney General must generally approve such an action before it can proceed in court. 

The pending application does not establish that Lee violated the city’s residency requirements.

Tuesday’s final agenda does not include a Section 407 discussion under Administrative Matters, Unfinished Business or New Business.