Long
Beach alumnus appointed city manager
By Mari Shinkai
Summer On-line Forty-Niner
Gerald
R. Miller, who for the past seven months
has served as Long Beach’s Acting City Manager,
has been chosen to be Long Beach’s new city
manager.
On
May 13, 2003, during a Long Beach City Hall
press event held in the Council Chamber,
Long Beach Mayor Beverly O’Neill announced
that Miller is Long Beach’s new city manager.
O’Neill said the council voted unanimously
to offer the position to Miller, who assumed
the responsibilities of acting city manager
following the council’s dismissal of former
City Manager Henry Taboada effective Oct.
2002.
Miller
was praised by O’Neill and council members.
“We
thank him for his extraordinary dedication
to his acting capacity over the last few
months and for his willingness to formally
accept the position,” O’Neill said.
“We
have confidence in [Miller]… I’m very excited
about working with [Miller] in the years
to come,” Bonnie Lowenthal, councilwoman
said.
Miller
stated that he is honored and humbled by
everyone’s confidence in him and he is going
to “do everything he can to demonstrate
that confidence is well placed.”
According
to Long Beach City Government Web site,
Miller has more than 25 years experience
with the City of Long Beach. He became acting
city manager on Oct. 5, 2002, after serving
as assistant city manager since January
1999. In addition to providing administrative
support to the city manager and several
city departments, including police, fire,
financial management and oil properties,
Miller coordinates City Intergovernmental
Relations, Citizen Police Complaint Commission
and Public Information functions in the
City Manager’s Office.
“He
is responsible for managing a budget of
approximately $1.8 billion and more than
5,500 employees,” said Kathy Parsons, public
information officer of City Manager Office.
Limiting
flights in and out of Long Beach Airport,
future plans for the 710 Freeway which could
result in possible loss of housing, and
a port growth, which is very expensive and
threatens to swallow the city—these are
the issues and challenges which Miller has
to deal with as a City Manager.
“We
need to make the city safer and cleaner,
to make the city fiscally stronger, to help
the organization engender more trust, to
ensure that as we evolve new development
projects, we balance this development with
the ongoing commitment to address the needs
of our neighborhoods, to protect our parks
and open space,” Miller said. “I want to
do more to communicate effectively with
our residences and to help the community.”
Miller
was born in Pasadena, and has lived in Long
Beach for more than 40 years. He holds a
bachelor’s degree in psychology and studied
community psychology at the graduate level
at Cal State Long Beach.
“The
city and [CSULB] have a great relationship.
I’d like to improve the city with Cal State
Long Beach in providing a better environment
and communication,” he said. “President
Robert Maxson is a very good friend and
supporter of Mayor O’Neill and City Council
and I have had great experiences at Cal
State Long Beach and really enjoyed the
university environment.”
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