Ochoa accepts city manager’s job in Ontario
City Manager Scott Ochoa announced Wednesday he will resign his position with the city of Glendale to take the top management job with the city of Ontario.
Ochoa notified local city employees in an email Wednesday.
“While I am truly excited for this opportunity to work with another high-performing team, I hope you can appreciate how much it hurts to leave you and this place,” Ochoa said in the email.
“In nearly six years and through many turbulent times, we have pulled together to demonstrate the heights of achievement that are possible when you put the best team on the field,” he added.
His last day with the city of Glendale will be Nov. 17.
On Tuesday, the Ontario City Council unanimously approved a four-year employment contract with Ochoa to serve as Ontario’s city manager as well as executive director of the Ontario Housing Authority, according to the Ontario City Clerk’s Office.
He is expected to start Nov. 20, the agreement states.
By leaving, Ochoa will serve a slightly smaller population — roughly 173,000 residents compared to nearly 201,000 residents in Glendale — but will receive a pay increase from his current $275,000 plus benefits to an annual salary of $310,000 plus benefits, according to the city clerk’s office.
Last week, Ochoa notified Glendale employees via email that he was a finalist for the city manager’s position in another city, but he wouldn’t identify the community. He said at the time that if he is offered the job, he will resign on Wednesday, and his final day with the city of Glendale would be Nov. 17.
Ochoa was named Glendale’s city manager in January 2012, after serving as Monrovia’s city manager from 2004 until the end of 2011.
Current Ontario City Manager Al C. Boling — who has served in that top position since December 2013 — brings home an annual salary of about $289,000, plus benefits, according to the website Transparent California.
Boling announced in April he would step down due to family health issues.
Boling said Monday that he asked the Ontario City Council in May to appoint him to his previous position as assistant city manager to allow more time to deal with his mother’s health.
Boling committed to serve as city manager until officials could find a replacement, he said.
Twitter: @JeffLanda
