The Santa Barbara City Administrator’s Office is reorganizing executive responsibilities with the retirement of Assistant City Administrator Marcelo Lopez, effective January 1, 2014.
Assistant City Administrator Paul Casey who also serves as Community Development Director will be assigned full-time to the City Administrator’s Office, effective January 1, 2014. In this role, he will oversee the following departments: Community Development, Finance, Parks and Recreation, Library, and Airport. Paul has worked for the City for 16 years, previously serving the City of Santa Monica as the Assistant to the Director of Planning and Community Development. Paul received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Irvine and Master’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin.
City Planner Bettie Weiss has been appointed Acting Community Development Director where she will supervise planning and development services, building and safety, and housing and human services. She has served as the City Planner since 2001, promoted to various positions in the Planning Division since her hire in 1983. Bettie received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Santa Barbara.
Employee Relations Manager Kristy Schmidt has been appointed the Acting Administrative Services Director supervising the following divisions: City Clerk Services, Information Systems, and Human Resources. She will continue to serve as the City’s chief labor negotiator. Before joining the City in 1997, she held various human resources management positions with Macy’s and other organizations. Kristy received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Santa Barbara and a Juris Doctor degree from the Santa Barbara College of Law.
According to City Administrator Jim Armstrong, “Paul, Bettie and Kristy are outstanding managers and I appreciate their willingness to take on additional duties during this period of change and transition. We are fortunate that we have so many talented individuals in our organization who are ready to step up to new responsibilities.”