Los Altos City Council Appoints Interim City Manager
Los Altos, Calif. — January 13, 2021 — The Los Altos City Council has selected Brad Kilger to be Interim City Manager, effective January 13, 2021.
Kilger has over 40 years of experience in municipal government. He retired in 2019, after having served as city manager in Martinez, Benicia, Ceres, and Yucca Valley for a combined period of 18 years. In early 2020, Kilger served as Interim City Manager in South Lake Tahoe. Kilger is also past president of the League of California Cities’ City Managers Department and is a senior advisor to city managers through the International City-County Management Association (ICMA) and League of California Cities. Earlier in his career, he was a city planner, and served as economic and community development director as well as executive director of redevelopment in several California communities. He retains his certification with the American Institute of Certified Planners.
“We are confident Brad will be able to quickly step into this role and provide effective leadership in the City’s response to COVID-19 and in critical areas, including completion of the Community Center, development of the next 2-year budget, and compliance with new state-mandated housing and planning requirements,” said Mayor Neysa Fligor. “Brad’s broad and deep experience in local government will provide strong leadership for City staff and partnership with Council to keep Los Altos moving forward, while we recruit a permanent City Manager. He guided South Lake Tahoe through the early days of the pandemic and a smooth transition to a new permanent city manager. His background in planning and community development is an added plus.”
The City Council approved Kilger’s appointment and contract at its January 12, 2021, meeting. His contract term is for the period January 13, 2021 to August 31, 2021, unless terminated earlier, including when the City hires a permanent City Manager.
“I look forward to working with the City Council, staff, and community members over the next several months as they recruit their next city manager,” said Kilger. “There are many exciting and crucial projects in the queue that need to be completed in the near-term and teed up for the next city manager to take over. It is important that work on these key projects does not lag during the transition.”
“Furthermore, it is important to keep in mind that the pandemic has created significant challenges that the City of Los Altos must address while continuing to provide quality services and meet the needs of residents and businesses. Based on what I have already ascertained, I am quite confident the City will be successful, despite these challenges, given the leadership of the City Council, dedication of staff, and the commitment of the citizenry to make Los Altos the best it can be.”
Mayor Fligor also expressed appreciation to Deputy City Manager Jon Maginot, who has been acting City Manager following the resignation of former City Manager Chris Jordan.
“We appreciate Jon stepping in as acting City Manager for the past six weeks. His professionalism and leadership were critical in ensuring continuity, not just with city operations, but through the transition to a new City Council and working with regional and local partners, as the city faced increasing constraints from the resurgent COVID pandemic. It’s been a pleasure working directly with Jon the last few weeks.”
