PE MacDuff Backs Schwab for City Manager..

10:00 PM PDT on Tuesday, May 12, 2009
CASSIE MACDUFF

Three neighboring San Bernardino County cities, in an uncanny coincidence, are grappling with how to appoint their next permanent city managers.

Two will shortly have vacancies, as their longtime city managers just announced their departures.

The third has an acting city manager who wants his former boss's job permanently.
Colton's longtime city manager, Daryl Parrish, surprised his council late Thursday by announcing that he'll leave May 28 to take the city manager post in Covina.
Loma Linda's longtime city manager, Dennis Halloway, had hinted for some time that he wanted to retire. Last week, he made it official: He leaves in July.

Grand Terrace's longtime city manager, Tom Schwab, who's been recovering from a brain injury for the past year, announced he's ready to come back.
But his understudy -- shades of "All about Eve" -- wants the permanent appointment.
Steve Berry, who was hired by Schwab as assistant city manager, has been filling in since Schwab suffered a leaking blood vessel in his brain last June and underwent emergency surgery to relieve life-threatening swelling.

All three city councils had scheduled closed-door meetings Tuesday night to decide how to proceed.
For Loma Linda and Colton, it was a matter of deciding whether to appoint an acting city manager from inside City Hall while conducting an executive search for a permanent replacement, or hire an interim city manager from outside.
The League of California Cities has a stable of former city managers who are willing to take temporary posts when vacancies suddenly arise.
I browsed the Web site -- http://www.cacities.org/ -- and found several familiar names: former Redlands and Hemet city manager John Davidson, former Moreno Valley city manager Gene Rogers and former Inland Valley Development Agency chief Bill Bopf.
Cites take different approaches to hiring new managers. When Yucaipa's longtime manager John Tooker left in October; the council promoted from within, appointing the public works director.
When San Bernardino's longtime manager Fred Wilson left last summer, the council brought in an interim manager from outside while an executive search was done. On June 1, Reno manager Charles McNeely takes the helm.
Long tenures for city managers are the exception, although Parrish and Halloway lasted eight years in Colton and Loma Linda respectively (a miracle in Colton, given the city's constant turmoil).


Schwab's tenure in Grand Terrace was even longer: 20 years as city manager, four years in finance.
You'd think that would buy him some loyalty from the City Council after he suffered a subdural hematoma -- the same kind of brain bleeding and swelling that killed actress Natasha Richardson.
But when Schwab's medical leave of absence ended in February, the City Council brought him back on a short-term contract to help put together the city's budget for the coming fiscal year. The contract ends June 30.
Schwab said he lost 45 pounds during his recuperation and is in better health than before the brain injury. He's confident he can resume his old job at the same performance level. "I know what the job demands," he said.
I spent an hour with him on Thursday morning and found him as sharp, articulate and well-versed in city government as ever.
Mayor Maryetta Ferre said the council would give a "great deal of sensitive thought" to the decision.
I hope they do the right thing. If not, I know a couple of cities that are looking for a good manager.
Cassie MacDuff can be reached at 951-368-9470 or cmacduff@PE.com

From the Email InBox:

Paww Suggests Cassie MacDuff's comment about Grand Terrace City Council being Loyal to Tom Schwab makes me want to toss my Miguel's Tacos.

The City Council is supposed to be of service to the Citizens of Grand Terrace not the Command or Convenience of Tom Schwab. The City Council has repeatedly been "Loyal" by hiding transgressions, errors, and perhaps even criminal activity by either Tom Schwab or the Person He hired to groom as his replacement Steve Berry. This suggests that his judgement is less than in service to the Citizens of Grand Terrace than to his own self interest.

Each of these men, consistently asked everyone else to give up income, some loosing their jobs entirely, while they consistently got raises, and contract extended, a home, and a car... and so fort...

Cassie Grand Terrace cant afford either of them. Tom's contract could have been terminated at the time he was unable to come to work when he had his kidney transplant. His contract could have been terminated when he had the brain injury. Now that Steve has an eye on the job, there seems to be a dribble of allegations of wrong doing by Steve that the Council and Schwab were aware of while all along hiding this information from the public, increasing their incomes and extending their employment.

The MOB and Street Gangs make you do something illegal as a test of Loyalty and to have something to hold over your heads. It is beginning to look like IF Schwab or Berry stays as City Managers in Grand Terrace they have something on the City Council Members and the Old Political Guard of Grand Terrace that they are afraid of having exposed to the sunlight of truth and public disclosure.

Not retaining a person after their contract expires is not disloyal. Cutting Steve Berry from the budget is ECONOMICS... Not re-contracting with Tom Schwab is both ECONOMICS and PRUDENT MANAGEMENT.

To retain either of these men in Grand Terrace will make Grand Terrace look like a bunch of IDIOTS and RUBES. They mayor saying after a meeting on the subject " I have no idea" does not help with the public impression of the Mayor.

The right answer Ms Mayor would have been, "I can't comment on Personnel Matters", "We hope to have an Open Application Process and Attract to Grand Terrace the City Manager needed by Grand Terrace. or. "The Brown Act allows the City Council to hide behind closed doors anytime the discussion could remotely be related to a possible legal action. However, when such meetings result in a decision that decision not the reason for the decision needs by law to be made public. The decision of the Council was to Open the Position for Applications, prior to deciding upon a person to contract with.

Now it is up to Citizens to make sure the Council hasn't just pretended to take applications to stop Tom and Steve from tossing mud at each other... Kind of like asking what to call High School #3, when the CJUSB had their own name pre selected. Perhaps this action is to stop further investigation into the Council Members actions relating to covering up internal criminal activity? Time will tell..