Recently in City Manager Category

City Attorney James F. Penman said Wednesday afternoon that personnel in his office are interviewing an individual who believes city officials have placed residents at a group home that's under investigation following the discovery of unsanitary conditions there.

"We have received at least one allegation that a city department may have been placing people at this home for some time," Penman said. "We're interviewing the individual who is making that allegation today."

The Police Department is investigating to determine if any felonies occurred at the group home, which is in the 2800 block of Golden Avenue. Lt. Dan Keil said detectives are looking for things like financial issues, licensing problems and whether medication was illegally dispensed among residents.

Keil said he had not heard of any allegations that anyone in the city's employ made placements at the group home.

"I am not aware of any direct placements at these facilities," Keil said.

Keil added that investigators were checking to see if any of the Golden Avenue home's residents were wards of the court or placed in conservatorship.

He also said any placements at any group home would typically be made by a county agency, not a city department.

Jim Morris, chief of staff to Mayor Pat Morris, similarly said that city departments are not supposed to place individuals at residential facilities. The only exception he mentioned is relocation assistance that he said is administered through the City Attorney's Office.

Penman also said he is displeased that a meeting that had been scheduled to involve his office, as well as members of the Police, Fire and Code Enforcement departments has been postponed.

The meeting, initially set to have taken place Wednesday afternoon, is now postponed until Monday because City Manager Charles McNeely is on vacation. Penman said he is concerned that the delay could impede the parallel investigations being conducted by police investigating potential felonies and other city staffers checking for misdemeanor or municipal code violations.

Catherine Pritchett in the City Manager's Office confirmed that meeting had been rescheduled but added that she sees absolutely no reason for the postponement to affect ongoing investigations.

The city's Code Enforcement Department was not part of the city's initial response to the Golden Avenue home because of budget cuts. The department is closed on Fridays.

Marianne Milligan, the department's deputy director, said Code Enforcement officers were dispatched Tuesday and have already issued a notice of violation. Observed code violations include razor wire around the home, the conversion of an aviary into living quarters and trash and debris around the residence.

Milligan said there are no records of any prior complaints of code violations at the Golden Avenue home. She said the house is in a neighborhood that was annexed into San Bernardino in 2006.

City Manager Charles McNeely reports that the new budget deal recommended by Sacramento's Big 5 would cost $5-6 million to the city and San Bernardino Economic Development Agency Budgets.

California's current budget proposal would take/borrow/raid (do your own spin here) billions from local governments from Calexico to Crescent City and points in between. The state would balance its budget by using $1.7 billion in local property tax and sales tax revenues through the state's Prop. 1A formula, $1 billion municipalities' share of gas tax dollars and $1.7 billion from redevelopment agencies' funds for low-income housing projects.

"According to state lawmakers, funds loans from municipalities must be paid back, with interest, in three years. But local leaders say they need the money now, having endured their own excruciating budget cuts triggered by steep declines in local sales tax receipts, the decline in housing values and escalating foreclosure rates," reads a release from McNeely's office.

A 4 to 3 vote clears the way for City Manager Charles McNeely to hire a communications manager and other positions as part of move to reorganize his office.

Council members Dennis Baxter, Tobin Brinker, Fred Shorett and Rikke Van Johnson voted in favor of the city manager's plan. Council members Esther Estrada, Chas Kelley and Wendy McCammack voted against the move.

The council was unanimous however, in a related vote to set the salary for the currently vacant assistant city manager's position and create a senior administrative analyst position. Whoever is hired to the latter job will be responsible for writing up grant proposals and other "complicated staff work."

Council members cast their votes Monday night.

The job description for the newly-approved communications manager's position establishes that whoever gets that job will be responsible for communicating city policy with the media, business community and others. The staffer will also be responsible for working with employees in other city departments to develop a marketing plan for San Bernardino.

The communications manager's lucrative compensation package and the fact that the city's Personnel Committee had recommended against creating the communications manager's position both figured in Monday's debate.

The future communications manager is slated to earn a pay package worth $8,850 to $10,757 per month. McNeely pointed out that the compensation package for this position, as well as that for the assistant city manager's job and senior administrative analyst's position, will not draw on San Bernardino's stressed general fund.

However, Estrada said she thinks creating the position still sends the wrong message to city employees who have been laid off in recent cost-cutting moves.

"It's a little hard for me to consider this request in light of the fact that we had to lay off people, furlough people ... have City Hall closed on Friday," she said.

Brinker said the city should invest in hiring an employee dedicated to speaking on behalf of the city.

"I know it is a lot of money, but in the long term, the benefits will be there," he said.

The Personnel Committee consists of the very council members who previously voted against the creation of the communication manager's committee. Kelley and McCammack objected to having the issue taken to the full council after their votes, while McNeely said he respected their opinions but thought the full council should have a say.

McNeely also said a citywide spokesperson would be better able to handle PR duties than the heads of city departments, who were hired to for skills specific to their departments rather than communications.

San Bernardino's City Charter establishes that the mayor is officials the city's spokesperson. City Attorney James F. Penman said he didn't think the creation of the comminications manager's position was illegal, but that the proper way to place this duty within the City Manager's Office would be through a voter approved charter amendment.

McNeely said having hiring a city spokesperson work for his office, as opposed to the elected mayor, would depoliticize the job.

City Manager Charles McNeely and Police Chief Keith Kilmer are scheduled to meet the public at a Tuesday meeting hosted by Seventh Ward Councilwoman Wendy McCammack.

McNeely and Kilmer both joined the city June 1.

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.Tuesday at Crossroads Christian Fellowship, which is at the crossing of 30th Street and Waterman Avenue.

City Manager Charles McNeely writes in an email that a credit agreement between City Hall and the San Bernardino Economic Development Agency has not yet been drawn up.

"No, an agreement has not been drawn up at this point. Staff recommendation was to move forward with the adoption of the budget and finalize the terms of the agreement between the City and EDA during the next few weeks," McNeely wrote. "At this point I am told that it will take several weeks to complete this before it is presented to the City Council after which I am hoping we can move forward with the budget adoption."

The EDA is officially separate from the city and has its own budget. McNeely has proposed that the city balance its budget by borrowing up to $5.4 million from the EDA. City Attorney James F. Penman said during a budget workshop Monday that his office needs more time to review the credit proposals to determine if it conforms with California law. The council did not adopt the budget Monday, postponing that decision to an undetermined date later this month.

In a memo written to the the Mayor and CIty Council dated June 26, McNeely wrote that he expected to draw $2.4 million that would be repaid this year and that the credit agreement would include options for two one-year extensions.

Penman has said one of his concerns is that the extensions could be contrary to state law requiring the money to be repaid in a single year. He has also said that he has not seen any tentative agreement between the EDA and City Hall for a line of credit and first learned of details regarding the proposal morning of Monday's budget meeting.

Acting city manager Lori Sassoon is scheduled to start a new job as Villa Park's next city manager June 1.

"It's a great job for me," she said.

June 1 is the same day that city manager-designate Charles McNeely and police chief-designate Keith Kilmer are scheduled to begin working in San Bernardino.

Villa Park, south of Anaheim and surrounded by Orange, is the smallest city in Orange County. The 2.1 square mile town has about 6,500 residents. Sassoon is scheduled to earn a salary of $120,000.

Future City Manager Charles McNeely's contract begins June 1. He said he wants to spend time in San Bernardino before that date, but has to work through contract issues in Reno, where he is currently employed, to make that happen.

Current interim City Manager Mark Weinberg's employment agreement with the city is set to expire April 21. California Public Employees Retirement System rules prevent him from working beyond that date.

Assistant City Manager Lori Sassoon is slated to work as acting City Manager during any time between the conclusion of Weinberg's employment and the beginning of McNeely's.

By Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer

SAN BERNARDINO -- The City Council voted Thursday evening to appoint Reno City Manager Charles McNeely to the city's top administrative post.

"It is an opportunity for me to come to a community that has unprecedented opportunities, challenges, but unprecedented opportunities," McNeely said while addressing the council after their vote.

The council voted 5-0 in closed session to hire McNeely. However, Councilwoman Wendy McCammack abstained from approving his contract in public session, saying she was concerned about the amount of McNeely's compensation in light of recent efforts to obtain pay concessions from city employees.

The incoming city manager's contract sets his salary at $275,000 per year, minus a 10 percent giveback.

McNeely takes the job as San Bernardino's city government cuts back on staffing and services in the face of shrinking tax revenues. San Bernardino officials have also sought across-the-board pay concessions of 10 percent for police, fire and general employees and managers.

McCammack said McNeely's deal also includes $73,000 in other perks, such as $15,000 in relocation assistance. She also said that her abstention was meant as a show of support to city employees, not a criticism of McNeely's abilities.

Mayor Pat Morris responded to McCammack's concerns by pointing out that McNeely's salary and deferred compensation will be lower than several other nearby cities with smaller populations, such as Victorville, Fontana and Ontario.

But those on the dais spent more time Thursday welcoming McNeely to San Bernardino than debating dollars.

McNeely is scheduled to begin working in San Bernardino on June 1. He said he wants to work out a way to start earlier, but his contract with Reno requires him to give 60 days' notice before leaving.

He said one of his first tasks will be to meet with city Finance Director Barbara Pachon and build an understanding of San Bernardino's finances. He plans to prepare for a fairly long recession.

"I don't think this is going to turn around tomorrow. I think we're going to be in it for a year or two," McNeely said after the meeting.

He also outlined economic revitalization, public safety and recreational services as key priorities.
"I'm really a person who's very committed to making sure we have very strong recreational, library and art programs," he said.