After an extensive search, the Burbank City Council has reached an agreement with veteran city administrator Mark Scott to become Burbank’s next City Manager. Scott will replace Ken Pulskamp, who joined the City of Burbank December 3, 2012, to serve as Interim City Manager after City Manager Mike Flaad resigned to take a similar position in South Gate.
Council reached the agreement during closed session on Tuesday night and will consider the contract at the next City Council meeting on Tuesday, June 25.
Under a council-manager form of government, the elected members of Burbank City Council are responsible for hiring a City Manager to serve as the administrative head of the City government. It is then up to the City Manager to hire and fire City employees and department heads.
Scott currently serves as City Manager for the City of Fresno, a full service city, in which he oversees multiple departments, a staff of 3,100 employees, and an annual budget in excess of $1 billion. According to the Fresno Bee, voters last week rejected a plan by the Fresno Mayor to outsource trash collection that would have paid the city millions in franchise fees. The City of Fresno may now be forced to declare a financial emergency which is a first step toward bankruptcy.
Scott has extensive city management experience including 20 years with the City of Beverly Hills, 14 of which were as City Manager. He has also served as City Manager for the cities of Spartanburg, South Carolina and Culver City, California. In addition, Scott has a Master’s of Business Administration from Stanford University and is a 35-year member of the International City Management Association (ICMA).
Scott will replace Pulskamp if approved at the meeting, Scott will assume the office on August 1.
He will be thrown right into the fire as he will have to deal with several police officers who were fired who are about to have their arbitration hearings in the coming months, as well as keep Burbank’s budget under control as the council continues to get pension liabilities under control.
