San Bernardino has promoted its assistant manager to the top executive position, but not without a little controversy. Andrea Miller was hired Aug. 2 to replace former city manager Mark Scott who is now the interim city manager for Indio.
San Bernardino just exited a five-year bankruptcy and is still struggling to pay for services, but that didn’t stop it from offering Miller a generous compensation package that was criticized by some. She’ll earn $253,080 a year with a guarantee that her salary will increase to match any other employee. A good performance could yield incentives of up to 5 percent of her salary annually.
If it will keep Miller in the job, it might be worth it. But that’s a big if. The city has gone through eight city managers in the past nine years.
“San Bernardino cannot expect a successful recovery with this type of rampant leadership turnover at City Hall,” said Councilman John Valdivia, who is running for mayor. “Ms. Miller is certainly qualified, but I am concerned that she has already deserted our community once before.”
Valdivia is referring to Miller’s stint as interim city manager in 2012. She was at the helm for the first six months of San Bernardino’s bankruptcy but then left to take a position as executive director of the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments.
Things have changed since then, Miller says. With a new charter and a strategic plan, she feels a greater sense of confidence in the city and her ability to help lead it. She has promised to stay on the job for at least five years.
Read more from the Press Enterprise and the San Bernardino Sun.