Saratoga City Manager Dave Anderson attributes the turnover to the economy finally improving in the South Bay and the desire of employees to advance their careers.

The most notable recent departures have included Tom Sullivan, the community development director; Danielle Surdin, economic development coordinator; Steve Prosser, code enforcement officer; and Cary Bloomquist, administrative analyst.

Sullivan left to become the city manager of Avalon in Southern California. "It was an opportunity to end my career in local government as a city manager, to earn a larger salary and to be able to live and work by the ocean again," he said.

Anderson said that some staff move because of the high cost of living in the area. "Some move when they start raising families," he said.

Anderson said that neighboring cities have a larger, more diverse economic base and it is easier for them to offer more attractive salaries and employment packages.

"We always have to struggle against other cities," he said, adding that the pay ranges for city staff in Saratoga have to be updated to make the city a more attractive place to work. "We did not do it last year. We can reinstate it to be more competitive." Anderson said that employees would have more potential for advancement once a new pay range was instituted.

Bloomquist, who now works for the city of Mountain View, said that he left because he was offered a job that he couldn't refuse. "I wanted to work in the field of solid waste. I wore many different hats in Saratoga," said Bloomquist.

He said that it was a good chance for him to advance his career and work for a larger city. "It is also near Redwood City, where I live," he said.

Bloomquist said that the city seemed to be in a cycle where a lot of people are leaving. "But most employees seemed to have left for better opportunities," he said.

Prosser now works for the city of Campbell while Surdin is employed by the town of Los Gatos.

A former employee of the city, who requested that his name not be used in this article, said that employees tend to leave when city managers change or when a city council wants to reduce services.

He said that Saratoga was caught up in a budget crisis and the future looked very uncertain.

"Further cuts in the city are an absolute possibility," he said. "I think nobody wants to be in a position where they are asked to leave."

Mayor Kathleen King said that the city has reached a position where many people on the staff are over-extended. She said that many ideas that the council had could not be implemented due to lack of staff time.

John Cherbone, public works director, adds that the city can't afford to lose any more people.

The city is in the process of looking for a new community development director, a building inspector and a code enforcement officer. The city council is not looking to fill the positions of administrative analyst and economic development coordinator until the budget cuts for next year are determined.

Both Sullivan and Bloomquist said that they had happy memories of their time in Saratoga.

Sullivan said he was proud of the zoning code amendments that were rewritten and adopted during his tenure.

"I would like Saratoga to be everything its citizens want it to be," he said.