From Eastvale to Grand Terrace: Blue Mountain City has a New Face

Recent changes in Grand Terrace's leadership now include the appointment of a new interim city manager. Carol Jacobs was appointed at the Jan. 13 regular council meeting to the position of interim city manager, effective immediately. Jacobs fills the position held by former Interim City Manager Ken Henderson, whose contract with the city ended due to expired employee eligibility as a result of his retirement status through CalPERS, according to officials. Staff reports show that currently the city council is working with an executive search firm to assist the city with the recruitment of a city manager. The recruitment process is expected to be complete in April 2015, and until then the city must employ an interim city manager until a city manager is appointed. Jacobs's employment as the interim city manager commenced on Jan. 14 and will end upon the hiring of a city manager, staff reports show. Her employment agreement stipulates a salary of $170,000 plus benefits, including CalPERS retirement, health care, car allowance and sick leave. “I am very excited to be here in the city of Grand Terrace,” said Jacobs. “One of the first things I look forward to doing is helping the council implement their 2030 plan. It's a great plan and they have put a lot of time into developing it, and the former interim city manager also put in a lot of hard work. I also think continuing to work toward more economic development would be good for the city.” Her municipal career has spanned over 25 years. Prior to coming to Grand Terrace, Jacobs worked as the city manager of Eastvale from September 2012 until August 2014. From March 2009 to September 2012, Jacobs was the city manager for the city of Stanton, located in Orange County, where she also worked as an administrative services director for three years. Jacobs also has experience as a senior manager at the government services firm of CBIX MHM, LLC. Jacobs said she will draw on her past experience in government and managing cities facing financial challenges to benefit Grand Terrace. "I have a lot of experience working with fiscally challenged cities and I want to use that to help us cut some costs and go in a different way that maybe we didn't think of before," Jacobs said. In Stanton, Jacobs developed several plans which helped move the fiscally-strapped city out of a serious fiscal structural deficit, and in Eastvale, Jacobs worked on the renegotiation of the city's Revenue Neutrality Agreement and helped implement a rental registration program which allowed the city to register all rental homes and combat the growing problem of these properties being used as marijuana growhouses. Pressing issues for Grand Terrace, Jacobs shared, include the upcoming budget review - and priority should be placed on the development of a balanced budget, she felt. "We need to provide quality services with the resources we have," Jacobs said. "It might be a challenge, but I think we can do it."