San Bernardino is simultaneously searching for interim and permanent city managers in light of the announcement this month that top administrator Rob Field is leaving his post Jan. 16.
Elected officials would like to have an interim city manager in place when Field departs to fill the gap between then and the hiring of his successor, city spokesman Jeff Kraus wrote in an email.
Mayor John Valdivia announced Dec. 7 that in closed session that evening the City Council accepted Field’s resignation.
Valdivia subsequently thanked Field for his service to the community and wished him well on his future endeavors.
Outside of those remarks, nothing has been said publicly about why Field decided to resign.
Field did not return text messages seeking comment.
In a news release last week, Valdivia said Field worked with elected officials to finalize San Bernardino’s bankruptcy, which enabled the city to reinvest in parks, streets, libraries, police and code enforcement.
A record number of building permits were issued in San Bernardino this year, Valdivia added.
Field, who was hired as city manager in September 2020, earned in 2021, according to Transparent California, a government pay watchdog. Field’s total compensation amounted to $398,344 in 2021.
In a phone interview Friday, Dec. 16, Helen Tran, who on Wednesday, Dec. 21, will be sworn in as mayor, said with her background as a human resources director, hiring a city manager is not foreign.
Ideally, both positions get filled right away, she added.
“I know there’s an appetite for folks who want to come into a challenging city and take the helm and be effective,” Tran said. “As mayor, I want to ensure we’re all on the same page as far as what needs to be done, the engagement that needs to occur between the mayor and City Council, the community and the team at City Hall.”
Hiring a new top administrator, Tran said, “is another task we have to get done.
“So let’s get it done.”
