Morro Bay picks new city manager: ‘I’m excited to join the community’
Morro Bay will soon have a new city manager.
On Tuesday, the Morro Bay City Council voted unanimously to hire Yvonne Kimball for the position.
“I’m thrilled to have been selected,” said Kimball, who is currently the city manager in Jackson, located in the foothills of Amador County, east of Sacramento.. “I’m humbled to accept the responsibility that has been bestowed upon me.”
Kimball’s first day on the job is Aug. 14, according to the staff report.
During the past 15 years, Kimball has served as a city manager at three cities located in three different states, according to interim Morro Bay city manager Greg Carpenter.
Throughout her career, Kimball has “managed budgets, implemented capital improvement projects and fostered economic development within the community,” the staff report said.
“Her combination of experience and qualifications were the best fit for Morro Bay,” Carpenter said at the meeting.
Kimball will make an annual salary of $217,474, a monthly $600 car allowance, along with enrollment in full health care benefits and a California Public Employees’ Retirement System pension fund, the staff report said.
She will replace Scott Collins, who resigned from the position in March to serve as executive director of the Housing Authority of the City of San Luis Obispo. Greg Carpenter filled in as the interim city manager during Collins’ absence.
Morro Bay received 41 applications for city manager, with six applicants progressing to an interview with the City Council, the staff report said.
The city hired Mosaic Public, a public employee executive search firm, to assist with the recruitment process, according to the report.
Two candidates, including Kimball, were then selected for a “series of panel interviews with community members, local city managers and the city’s executive team,” the staff report said.
Based on community feedback, the City Council then selected Kimball as the next city manager.
At the Tuesday meeting, Kimball thanked the City Council, city staff and citizens for a warm welcome to Morro Bay.
“I’m excited to join the community,” she said.
Kimball also thanked her family for their support throughout her career, with her husband and one of three sons in the audience at the meeting.
“I am very grateful to my family, they are my foundation,” Kimball said.
The City Council presented Kimball with flowers, and councilmembers expressed their support for the new hire.
“I’m just really excited to welcome Ms. Kimball to our city,” Councilmember Jen Ford said.
