The search for a new full-time city administrator will begin soon, following city council members, on Dec. 14, City Council, on Dec. 14th, agreed to renew the engagement, with the cost of materials using the same recruiter who helped employ the previous city manager.
The city has appointed Jim Hart as interim city manager since September, the month that the previous city administrator Doug Dunford resigned after less than five months. Hart is a retired city administrator, is able to be employed by Cal City only part-time, since he is limited to the equivalent of 960 hours in a fiscal year, which is an obligation of his retirement benefits.
Ralph Anderson & Associates was appointed in the month of October 2021 by the city for a nationwide hunt that led to the hiring of Dunford. Because of his short time in office the firm’s Fred Wilson has agreed to conduct a second search, for just the printing costs and similar items, Hart said. It is believed to cost between $2,000 to $4,000.
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“No doubt we need this; we need a permanent city manager,” Councilmember Jim Creighton said. “I’m all in, in getting this done.”
Councilmember Karen Macedonio requested that Wilson present to the Council on the campaign to recruit and Hart promised to make arrangements for.
“I think we would like to clarify the process and the timeline so that we have clarity on what it is that we’re going to be taking on,” she added.
Hart stated that Hart said that the Council has been provided with the previous brochure employed by the company, and asked them to make any suggestions on how to modify it for this round of hiring.
Wilson is set to start the process of recruiting “right away,” Hart stated. If the process begins today, it may close in mid-January. Then, the Council may proceed with interviews and then a selection.
The office of the city manager located in California City has been in change since the city’s former administrator Anna Linn resigned, in July 2021.
A former City of Palmdale executive Anne Ambrose was appointed interim city manager on the day after Linn resigned. Ambrose held the post until the end of May, the month that Dunford’s term began.
Hart took over as interim city manager right after Dunford’s resignation.
