Goleta to Name New City Manager

It will be a smooth transition for Michelle Greene, who will be appointed Goleta’s new city manager on Tuesday after holding the interim position since April, the second-in-command spot since 2013, and working for the city for a decade. Greene beat out 69 other applicants for the job, which was vacated this spring by longtime leader Dan Singer, who left to work for the City of Poway in San Diego County.

Per her three-year contract, Greene will earn $222,500 annually — a bump from Singer’s $202,284 — as well as $700 a month for vehicle expenses and $150 a month for business equipment costs. Greene, who lives in Goleta (Singer commuted from Ojai), started working for the city 10 years ago as a management analyst, then moved up to administrative services director before taking the helm of the deputy city manager seat. Before working for Goleta, she was the city clerk/personnel manager for Grover Beach and the assistant city manager in Escalon. She earned her bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley before starting work on a public policy master’s degree from USC.

Greene said that three of the first items on her to-do list are to fill the positions of deputy city manager, finance director, and public works director; the former people to hold the latter two jobs left this spring. “I’m most looking forward to supporting our council with the policies, programs, and projects we have on our plate,” Greene said. “This is a really refreshing change for me. We have great people here. I’m really looking forward to it.”