San Bernardino must resume its search for a city manager after the top candidate for the job turned down the offer, officials have announced.
The city’s last permanent city manager, Rob Field, announced he was leaving the position after more than two years on the job 10 months ago. He was San Bernardino’s sixth city manager in eight years.
A week after the announcement, the city began its search for Field’s successor. In the meantime, former city manager Charles McNeely returned as interim city manager. As a retiree collecting a California Public Employees’ Retirement System pension, McNeely is restricted in how many hours he can work each fiscal year.
In April, the city hired Berkeley recruiting firm Koff & Associates to find a new permanent city manager. Almost 70 people reportedly applied for the city manager’s job.
In early September, it sounded like the San Bernardino City Council had found their new city manager. At their Sept. 6 meeting, the council voted to extend a formal job offer to their top candidate, although they held off on naming the candidate before the employment agreement came up for an expected vote at the Wednesday, Oct. 4 meeting.
But when the was posted on the city website on Friday, Sept. 29, no employment agreement was on the agenda.
That’s because the council’s top choice backed out.
“The City of San Bernardino was notified that due to personal and professional reasons, the city manager candidate to whom the city council made an offer has decided to remain with his current employer,” a reads in part. “While it is rare for a candidate to withdraw from consideration after an announcement is made, it is always a possibility. The mayor and city council will be determining its next steps in closed session on Wednesday, October 4 and remains confident that it will attract and hire the right person to manage the city.”
According to the Monterey County Weekly, the council’s . The Weekly reported on Thursday, Sept. 28, that Carrigan sent an email to Salinas city staff, saying he had withdrawn his name for consideration for the San Bernardino job.
“Over the past few weeks I have had time to think about what’s important to me from a personal and a professional standpoint and I have decided that Salinas is the best place for me,” Carrigan wrote in the email, the publication reported. “I cannot see myself working anywhere else.
“In Salinas, we’ve made a lot of progress on major issues like homelessness, affordable housing, crime and infrastructure and I want to be here to continue that momentum,” he continued.
The San Bernardino City Council is expected to discuss the setback and the process for appointing a new city manager during a behind-closed-doors session before the general meeting begins Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the clock is ticking for McNeely, who can work 960 hours a year (or about six months of eight-hour workdays) as a retiree under CalPERS rules.
Until now, he’s been working close to full-time, with the expectation that a permanent city manager would begin work before he used up the rest of his hours.
“Our city is about 230,000 people. Being a city manager is a full-time job,” city spokesperson Jeff Kraus said Monday.
McNeely still has some hours left this fiscal year, according to Kraus.
The council’s meeting is scheduled to begin in closed session at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday before open session at 7 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Feldheym Central Library, 555 W. Sixth St. in San Bernardino.
Note: This story has been updated to correctly note the number of hours McNeely can work each year.
More on San Bernardino’s search for a new city manager
- San Bernardino City Manager Rob Field resigns effective Jan. 16
- San Bernardino launches search for its next city manager
- Charles McNeely to return to San Bernardino as interim city manager
- San Bernardino hires Berkeley recruiting firm to find next city manager
- San Bernardino picks new city manager but withholds name for now
