Ben Harvey of Southern California Edison is Avalon’s new city manager. The Avalon City Council approved Harvey’s contract at the Tuesday, Sept. 3, meeting.
“It is true—I will be leaving SCE to become the new, full-time city manager for the City of Avalon,” Harvey said.
According to the staff report by City Attorney Scott Campbell, more than 40 people applied for the job.
The position became available in March when part-time City Manager Steve Hoefs announced he was stepping down.
Ben Harvey of Southern California Edison is Avalon’s new city manager. The Avalon City Council approved Harvey’s contract at the Tuesday, Sept. 3, meeting.
“It is true—I will be leaving SCE to become the new, full-time city manager for the City of Avalon,” Harvey said.
According to the staff report by City Attorney Scott Campbell, more than 40 people applied for the job.
The position became available in March when part-time City Manager Steve Hoefs announced he was stepping down.
“The City Council invited six candidates to interview,” said Campbell’s report. One candidate dropped out.
The council narrowed the choices down to Harvey and Radde, who met with council members and representatives of the business community on Aug. 22.
For approximately four years, Hoefs shared the job of running Avalon with Chief Administrative Officer Charlie Wagner for a year. However, Wagner also stepped down earlier this year. The California Public Employees’ Retirement System would only allow Wagner, a former city manager himself, to work temporarily.
Meanwhile, the City Council decided to keep the chief administrative officer position, according to another staff report by Campbell.
Interim City Manager/City Clerk Denise Radde will be chief administrative officer. Radde’s contract will return to the council after Radde and the city have negotiated the details of her new job.
Originally, the chief administrative officer served part time, as did the city manager, when Hoefs and Wagner filled the position vacated by Pete Woolson in 2009.
“The new CAO will work closely with the city manager to revise and update the job responsibilities of the CAO,” said Campbell’s report.
In April, Hoefs said 60 percent or more of the city manager’s job is based on local knowledge. He said a new city manager would need about three months just to get to know the community.
He said his successor should be someone who works well with others. He said to be successful on Catalina, a city manager needs to work with the Santa Catalina Island Company, the Catalina Island Conservancy and the Chamber of Commerce.
“They are all somewhat inter-tangled and we need to work together,” Hoefs said.
He said a city manager needs to spend a lot of time building relationships with those groups.
