Some glimpses of tomorrow's story on Wilson

"I went through a process and I was picked for the job, and I'm thrilled."

"I'm looking forward to making the move," Wilson said.

"I've got to talk more with the mayor about that, looks like early september (he'll be leaving post)," Wilson said.

Wilson, 49, will get a signifacant raise, to $240,000 annually from about $220,000 he now makes, although real estate costs in Huntington Beach would likely erase any gain.

Wilson has been the city's top manager for 12 years, after six years as assistant city administrator and three years as an assistant to the city administrator.

Prior to coming to San Bernardino in 1987, Wilson held public service positions in Chino and Simi Valley.

Wilson was born in Quebec, Canada and moved to the United States and earned citizenship in 1979.

Wilson took a bachelors degree from Cal Poly Pomona and a masters from Cal State Northridge.

Wilson said he plans to relocate to Huntington Beach after living in San Bernardino for 18 years. He is married with two daughters.

"San Bernardino is my home, has been for 18 years. It will be tough for all of us, but I've always planned on making one more move."

Asked whether the recent stir around Operation Phoenix had anything to do with his decision, Wilson was clear.

"Absolutely nothing," Wilson said. "This process started back in April."

Wilson had only praise for Morris, while wryly noting politics have always been rough sport in San Bernardino.

"I think Pat Morris is a good mayor, I've enjoyed working for Pat," Wilson said. "Politics in San Bernardino have always been difficult, but I have always tried to stick to the day-to-day operations of the city and focus on that."

As for the likelihood of bridging the budget gap before he departs, Wilson said he was confident he would.

"My goal is to have the budget balanced very soon," he said.

Wilson is scheduled to begin his new job on Sept. 22, pending a decision by the Huntington Beach City Council to make his hiring there official.

The announcement of Wilson's departure came while San Bernardino officials are still in the grips of major problems -- figuring out how to solve a multi-million-dollar budget problem and repairing Operation Phoenix, the anti-crime project that Mayor Pat Morris launched when he took office in 2006.

Whoever replaces Wilson will be in charge of the day-to-day tasks of Operation Phoenix and almost all other city activities.

Since the July 3 arrest of Operation Phoenix center manager Mike Miller on suspicion of child molestation, a stream of information has revealed that the program's recreational component -- which relied upon San Bernardino's cash-starved Parks, Recreation and Community Services department -- was beset by a cloudy chain of command of other problems.

Mayor Pat Morris has responded to news of Phoenix's shortcomings by releasing a plan that places respected aide Kent Paxton in a coordinating role. However, the authority to actually manage Phoenix-related endeavors is vested in the City Manager's office.

However, the Mayor shied away from commenting on what Wilson's new job means in the broader context of Operation Phoenix.

In regards to the budget, San Bernardino is nearly one full month into Fiscal 2008 but the Council has not yet adopted a spending plan.

The council has trimmed a projected $17.3-million shortfall down to about $4 million, but City Hall's efforts reach cost-sharing agreements with municipal employees have so far deadlocked, raising the prospect of even deeper budget cuts.

The city could very well have a budget in place by the time Wilson leaves office, but his successor will inherit a tough situation.

City officials have attributed current financial challenges to dwindling sales tax revenues. If the present economic slowdown persists for another year, San Bernardino's next city manager will likely have to figure out how to maintain city services in the face of diminishing property tax revenues as real estate's problems catch up to City Hall.

Mayor Pat Morris deferred to Wilson questions of what prompted the move, but said the move was the right one for his top manager.

"We're delighted that he was able to find a really good fit for himself in a fine city," Morris said.

When asked directly whether he played any role in prompting Wilson to search for new employment, Morris said, "I'm not going to go there." Morris said he was looking to the future.

"I want Fred to enjoy the opportunities that are in front of him," Morris said.

Morris said Wilson had some accumulated vacation time which would allow him to ease out of his city duties prior to his Sept. 22 start date in Huntington Beach.

During the interregnum between Wilson's departure and a new hire, Assistant City Manager Lori Sassoon will assume Wilson's duties.

Morris said the news shouldn't stall negotiations to close the city's budget deficit.
"I fully expect that we'll balance our city budget before he leaves," Morris said.

While Morris stressed how well Wilson was positioned to lead a new city, he also vowed that San Bernardino should be better off, assuming it snares top talent for the post.

"It's always good with a large organization like our own to refresh the leadership," Morris said.

7th Ward City Councilwoman Wendy McCammack said most top officials had "excellent" working relationships with Wilson.

McCammack, a frequent Morris critic, said Wilson's recent years were marred by Morris' leadership style.

"The mayor has continually interferred with Fred's ability to run the city," McCammack said. "(Wilson) has in some circumstances taken the blame for decisions that were made at a higher level."

Glenn Baude, the former Operation Phoenix director whom Wilson on Friday put on paid leave from his job heading the Code Enforcement Department, said the move is the right one for all parties.

"A change of scenery will be good for him," Baude said. "In the long run, it will be good for the city too."

Asked if he thought Wilson's departure had any implications for his own employment, Baude was opaque.

"Fred putting me on administrative leave had to do with my reaction to the issues," Baude said. "I don't take that personally."

City Attorney James F. Penman said Wilson had a Herculean struggle working for Morris.
"The fact that the mayor has attempted to continute to exercise day to day control over certain aspects of city government did not make Fred's job easy," Penman said. "Several of the top city department heads have been looking elsewhere and others are commenting on how close they are to retirement."

Penman remarked that Wilson would never air publicly any concerns about city leaders.
"Fred is a good soldier who will do his job until the end," Penman said. "He'll take a bullet for his boss."