AGOURA HILLS : City Manager Hired From Atwater

A city manager from the San Joaquin Valley community of Atwater has been selected to fill Agoura Hills’ vacant city manager position, officials said.

David Adams is currently negotiating a contract with the city and is expected to start work June 19, city officials said. He was chosen from four finalists.

“All four candidates were highly qualified, but Dave Adams was a real standout,” said Mayor Louise Rishoff.

As Atwater’s city manager, Adams oversees seven departments and 85 full-time employees. The city of 23,000, which has its own Police Department, has an annual operating budget of $13 million.

Adams said he enjoys his Atwater job but that the opportunity to relocate to Agoura Hills is one he could not pass up.

The position has been vacant since March, when former city manager Terry Matz resigned to become city manager of Stanton in Orange County. Matz became a lightning rod for criticism at a time when the five-member Agoura Hills council was the target of a recall attempt that has ended up in the courts.

David Anderson, the city’s community development director, was named acting city manager. Anderson, who is viewed as a close ally of the council, was a finalist to succeed Matz, who was paid about $84,000 a year. Some considered Anderson a shoo-in.

According to Agoura Hills officials, Adams oversaw Atwater’s implementation of a 6.7% utility tax, which set off a failed recall attempt against the City Council. The recall campaign against the Agoura Hills City Council was sparked by the city’s implementation of a 4% utility tax.

Agoura Hills received more than 100 applications, mostly from within California, city officials said. A field of 16 candidates was narrowed to 10, city officials said, then four.

Adams, who has also worked in the city manager’s office in Livermore and National City, is the father of triplet 10-year-old boys. He was a reserve police officer for several years.