John Goss: City Council’s Unanimous Choice for Interim City Administrator

ABSTRACT: Yesterday, the City Council unanimously voted to select John Goss as the City’s Interim City Administrator. Briefly, Goss has served as Alameda city manager, Chula Vista city manager and San Bernardino County interim planning director. Additional information about John Goss is presented from Ralph Andersen & Associates and Cal-ICMA.

As noted on the Ralph Andersen & Associates website, John Goss is "Senior Associate with Ralph Andersen & Associates, specializes in both executive search and management consulting assignments. He has over 40 years of experience in local government, working with both counties and cities."

"Before joining Ralph Andersen & Associates, Mr. Goss was the Assistant County Administrator, Economic Development and Public Services Group for San Bernardino County, California for five years. Mr. Goss has also served as City Manager of the City of Chula Vista, California and the City of Alameda, California and as the General Services Director for the City of Oakland, California."

Manager In Residence Profiles

JOHN GOSS
Retired City and County Manager; part-time consultant
Organization: Ralph Andersen & Associates
Mailing Address: 11382 Provencal Place, San Diego, CA 92128;
5017 Signal Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89130
Email: John@ralphandersen.com
Phone: Cell (858) 829-9788
Fax: (916) 630-4911 (RAA)
Number of Years in Local Government: 45

Additional Background Information
Degrees held:
Degree: BA, Political Economy
Institution: Fresno State College (Now University)
City/State: Fresno, CA
Year Completed: 1960

Degree: MPA
Institution: University of Southern California
City/State: Los Angeles, CA
Year Completed: 1964

Work History:
Position Title: Senior Associate
Organization: Ralph Andersen & Associates
City/State: Rocklin, CA
Start/End Dates: 2004–Present

Position Title: Assistant County Administrator (also Interim Planning Director)
Organization: County of San Bernardino
City/State: San Bernardino, CA
Start/End Dates: 1999–2004

Position Title: City Manager
Organization: City of Chula Vista, CA
City/State: Chula Vista, CA
Start/End Dates: 1983–1998

Position Title: General Services Director
Organization: City of Oakland, CA
City/State: Oakland, CA
Start/End Dates: 1980-1983

Position Title: City Manager
Organization: City of Alameda, CA
City/State: Alameda, CA
Start/End Dates: 1973–1980

Position Title: Assistant City Manager
Organization: City of Alameda, CA
City/State: Alameda, CA
Start/End Dates: 1968–1973

Also, in the early years, served in the positions of Administrative Intern (City of Phoenix), Administrative Analyst (City of San Diego) and Assistant to the City Manager (City of Fremont)

What, if any, teaching experience do you have?
I taught an annual graduate level seminar on municipal management (PA 620) at San Diego State for 11 years (approximately 1987 – 1997).

What are some areas of experience or topics that you would like to address during in-class presentations?
After all of these years, I have the background to discuss any city or county issue that the Professor would want discussed. I am particularly interested in what makes local government organizations work, including theories of organizational management. I also have significant background on how to piece local government organizations together, both from a direct service, operational perspective, as well as from a LAFCO perspective. Also, those who are interested in water conservation might be interested in a project I prepared for San Bernardino County that created a Desert Groundwater Preservation Ordinance for unadjudicated aquifers in San Bernardino’s expansive deserts. However, I have had three “career” projects that might be of interest:

 Planning and implementation of the Otay Ranch Project. This is a 34 square mile project that began while I was City Manager of Chula Vista, that resulted (after 7 years of planning) in a master plan for 24,000 dwelling units, with supporting commercial and industrial development. This was based on the principles of smart growth (late ‘80s) before that term was coined.

 Annexation of the “Montgomery Area.” At the time (1986) this was largest inhabited annexation in state history (24,000 people/four square miles).

 Overseeing San Bernardino County’s response to the 2003 wildfires (Grand Prix and Old Fires). The results of this response are summarized in an article I wrote for Public Management, March 2004 issue. The planning and the resulting organization that prepared San Bernardino County for these fires (MAST, Mountain Area Safety Task Force) has become a national model for other agencies which need to prepare and plan for large wildfires.

Source: Cal-ICMA, is a collaboration of the California City Managers’ Department (CMD); the California City Managers Foundation (CCMF); the two assistants groups (MMANC and MMASC); the County CAOs; the COG Directors; along with members of the academic community and from all of the other ICMA membership categories. Cal-ICMA is the "official" state affiliate with ICMA and is inclusive of all ICMA members without creating another “organization” with a separate dues structure.

OTHER SOURCES:
Your Town
The Monterey County Herald
Posted: 04/20/2011

Carmel Names Interim City Administrator
Posted: Apr 19, 2011 8:22 PM PDT
By Matt Stein

ADDENDUM:
Comprehensive Listing of Current and Recently Completed Executive Recruitments For John Goss

Current and Recently Completed Consulting Assignments For John Goss