FAIRHOPE, Alabama—In the latest shake-up at City Hall, another top manager has lost his job.

“It was a shock to me,” former Manager of Projects and Maintenance Ken Eslava said yesterday of his Nov. 9 termination. “I was informed Friday that my position had not been budgeted for this year.”

When approached after Monday’s City Council meeting, Mayor Tim Kant said no action had yet been taken, and that the issue “was under discussion.”

Kant said yesterday that “Ken did resign from his position” on Tuesday this week. “He didn’t get fired. He decided to resign because I told him that the position was going to be eliminated, and I have eliminated that position.”

Eslava responded: “That’s not it at all. I have the termination papers right here.”

Kant confirmed that Eslava first learned that his position “had not been budgeted” for this fiscal year last Friday.

This latest shake-up among top city staff followed the resignations of police chief, assistant chief and city administrator after the September municipal election swept a new majority on the council into office, which is more closely aligned with Kant.

The new council was not expected to reappoint former Police Chief Bill Press, which is why he said he resigned. Former Assistant Chief Terry Sanders and former City Administrator Gregg Mims also resigned from their positions prior to the new council being sworn in on Nov. 5. The city administrator position was eliminated by the newly elected council at its first meeting that night, and Kant said yesterday the assistant chief position will not be filled and will probably be eliminated as well.

Kant emphasized that Eslava’s $70,000 a year position was eliminated as a cost-cutting measure, and that other senior and assistant manager staff positions are also being scrutinized.

The end of Eslava’s employment came a few short days after the mayor’s salary was increased from $30,000 to $90,000 by the council on Nov. 5. The council reappointed Kant to the superintendent of utilities position at $60,000 a year that day, which the prior council had removed from him. The new council added that salary to the mayor’s existing $30,000 a year.

The council adopted the FY 2013 budget, which Kant and city staff prepared, at the Nov. 5 meeting, after the last council delayed action on it, saying it was more appropriate for the new council to consider and adopt. The 2013 fiscal year started Oct. 1.

“The environmental board worked closely with Ken on a number of projects and received nothing but the highest cooperation and excellent service from him,” said Jim Horner, chairman of the Fairhope Environmental  Advisory Board. “He also led an effort for an energy audit of all city buildings. His departure will be a great loss to the city.”

Horner said that energy audit work could have saved the city a lot of money had the former employee’s recommendations been followed.

Eslava joined the city as assistant public works director in February 2007 after working as public works director in Daphne for five years,  and following 30 years in industrial engineering work, he said yesterday.

“I thought he did an excellent job, working here,” Kant said of Eslava’s job performance. “It was just an economic issue and a task of trying to cut the budget. I’m eliminating some of the higher-cost management positions.”

Elsava said he plans to focus on his part-time wooden boat restoration business while seeking employment with another municipality in Baldwin County.

“It was a wonderful experience working for the city of Fairhope,” he said. “I hope I left things through my work in better shape than when I started.”