Arroyo Grande picks veteran of city governments as interim city manager

Arroyo Grande has hired former Glendale city administrator Robert McFall as its interim city manager while it continues the search to fill the position vacated when former City Manager Steve Adams was placed on administrative leave last year.

The Arroyo Grande City Council unanimously chose McFall at its meeting Tuesday night.

"I am genuinely honored and pleased to be able to be of service to the city of Arroyo Grande over the next few months," McFall said following the announcement. "My goal is to make this transition a very easy one for everyone here, and to help make it so that a new city manager, whoever they may be, can come into the most cohesive place that it can be."

McFall has approximately 33 years of experience in the public sector, 22 of which were spent as the Glendale assistant city manager before he retired in 2010, according to a staff report by Acting City Manager Debbie Malicoat. McFall also briefly served as interim city manager for Glendale, and has worked with the city of Arroyo Grande on several departmental assessments, executive goal setting and team building, and interdepartmental issues, Malicoat wrote.

The city contracted with Regional Government Services — a governmental joint powers authority that assists government agencies with short-term staffing needs — to recruit and interview several candidates for the interim city manager position, before selecting McFall.

City staff estimate that McFall’s services will be needed for about four months, with a total cost to the city of $60,000. That includes a monthly housing allowance of $1,700, and an hourly billing rate of $120. The city’s current budget for a city manager for four months is $70,600.

Meanwhile, the city will continue its search for a permanent city manager to replace Adams, who resigned following controversy over a July incident in which Arroyo Grande police found him and a subordinate, Community Development Director Teresa McClish, alone late at night in City Hall.

“(McFall) is going to help us during a time of great transition,” Councilman Tim Brown said at Tuesday’s meeting. “It’s been difficult on the city, it’s difficult on the public, but it’s really clear to me that he is going to bring the calm demeanor and the experience to bring us through this period.”

Since Adams was placed on paid administrative leave in November, Malicoat, the city’s administrative services director, has acted as city manager. Mayor Jim Hill gave Malicoat a certificate of recognition at Tuesday's meeting to thank her for her work during the transition process.

This story was originally published January 13, 2015 at 10:00 PM with the headline "Arroyo Grande picks veteran of city governments as interim city manager."