Steve Berry Wants Tom Schwab's Job: What Will He Do To Get It?

Official's passion brings innovation
Stephen Wall, Staff Writer
San
Bernardino County Sun
Article Launched:11/25/2006 12:00:00 AM PST

GRAND TERRACE - Don't call Steve Berry a bureaucrat. He likes the term "entrepreneur" better.

With a background in the private sector, Berry has brought innovative thinking to this city of nearly 13,000 residents.

Berry, a 44-year-old Riverside resident, was hired as assistant city manager five years ago.

"I don't consider myself a typical bureaucrat," he said. "I'm inside the government, but I still have creative ideas and solutions."

He manages the city's community services, information technology, code enforcement and child care divisions.

Berry also volunteers on several boards and foundations and coordinates the city's major festivals and events.

"He goes above and beyond the call of duty," said Jeff McConnell, a resident and community activist. "He doesn't punch his clock and go home. Because of all his involvement, he has a wealth of knowledge and experience that benefit the city."

Born and raised in Miami, Berry moved to California in 1982. He tried unsuccessfully to make his fortune in mainframe computers, then went back to college and earned a degree in business administration.

He worked for 12 years as vice president of district operations for the Loma Linda
division of Benefit Fraud Inspectorate waste services.

Through his contacts with local government officials, Berry got a job in the mayor's office in Riverside, where he created a program to expand computer and Internet access for low-income families.

In 2001, Grand Terrace City Manager Tom Schwab contacted Berry to ask if he would interested in working as his second in command.

"The one thing about Steve is that he is very passionate about his job," Schwab said. "He really puts a lot of his own heart and soul into putting a project together, whether it's the annual Grand Terrace Days festival or the dump days we have twice a year."

Berry said he is determined to see that Grand Terrace remains a safe, attractive and financially well-off city.

"Whether we're fixing streets, improving parks or enhancing public safety, our overriding purpose is to increase property values for the residents," he said.

Berry, who built the city's original Web site, is working to upgrade it with interactive features. For example, he said residents would be able to report potholes online and track progress made in fixing them.

(Citizens want to have Check Journal, Contact Announcements, and other City Business Online, not just automated pothole reporting and progress reports).

Besides his day job, he serves on the board of the Foundation of Grand Terrace, which raises money to plant trees and wants to create a wilderness park on Blue Mountain.

He is also chairman of the Riverside Educational Enrichment Foundation, which provides grants to teachers for special projects.

Berry hopes someday to become a city manager somewhere in the region.

"I think there's a lot of vision left in me," he said. "I understand the Inland Empire. I believe in the Inland Empire. I think we are destined for greatness."

Contact writer Stephen Wall at (909) 386-3916 (What INOVATIONS?)


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

An entrepreneur (a loanword from French) is a person who undertakes and operates a new enterprise or venture and assumes some accountability for the inherent risks. In the context of the creation of for-profit enterprises, entrepreneur is often synonymous with founder.

Most commonly, the term entrepreneur applies to someone who establishes a new entity to offer a new or existing product or service into a new or existing market, whether for a profit or not-for-profit outcome.

Business entrepreneurs often have strong beliefs about a market opportunity and are willing to accept a high level of personal, professional or financial risk to pursue that opportunity. Business entrepreneurs are often highly regarded in U.S. culture as critical components of its capitalistic society

A bureaucrat is a member of a bureaucracy, usually within an institution of the government.

The term "bureaucrat" today has largely negative connotations, so those who are the members of a governmental bureaucracy usually prefer terms such as civil servant or public servant to describe their jobs. The negative connotation is fueled by the perception that bureaucrats work inefficiently, lack creativity, are unmotivated, and are unresponsive to constituent needs.

Bureaucrat jobs are usually "desk jobs" (the French for desk being bureau), often of a clerical or organizational nature.

Gramps Says:

You pick what word best fits Steve Berry Assistant City Manager, and Apparent City Manager Hopeful.

Let us recall a few of his “triumphs”

He inflated budget and Outside Influence on City Event GT Days so far that GT is no longer the Focus, the Party and Event is.

He Inflated the Halloween Haunt from a Child Friendly Safe Place to an Excessive Budget with hired Outside Entertainment and Noise Levels. He caused the Alienation of Service Clubs and Parents of Smaller children who now attend an alternative, alternative to the Halloween Haunt by taking credit for the work of others.

Design and build of “Island of MT. Vernon” without consideration to impact on Drive way use of homeowners, or full understanding of traffic flow.

He showed a total Disregard of the Citizens Concerns on Palm (The other side of Grand Terrace), not once, but twice if not more.

He supported the Restriction of Public Input on the Pocket Park. He wants total control of the Park Design and Use. He pulled the wool over the eyes of the City Council over what they had agreed to or approved in relation to the Pocket Park, and rushed past Public Input into use and design, of the public space.

Increase in collection of “Contributions” from Developers and Businesses doing business with the City. Berry fails to account and report publicly the full disclosure of these funds and uses.
Innovative? For an alleged computer guy he has consistently said that there is no way the city could improve its web page without great expense. He has shown a lack of understanding of current technology and even basic web skills.

He fails to see that simplicity and local is a good thing. Bigger, Louder, More is not always a good thing. He does not inspire or build a community effort or community identity. He has not added to the self sufficiency or sustainability of community where is the inovation. Take Money from Contractors and Developers, throw a party with outside entertainment, and noise. Where is the inovation?

He is less qualified to be the City Manager than the Local Librarian.

Perhaps the City Clerk or City Manager Tom Schwab’s Secretary would be better qualified and more informed of the daily duties and current status of work underway in the City Manager’s Office and thus a better candidate for a Tom Schwab Replacement.

Perhaps we should recognize that the Work to running the city is done by the City Clerk and Secretary, and that the Decisions being made lie where they lie. What we need to do is hire the Worker, and let the City Council and Citizens return to the Decision Making Process.