GRASS VALLEY, Calif. January 24, 2017 – With a period of intense work behind him, Grass Valley, City Manager Bob Richardson has decided to move on to the final post in his career.  “Working with the Council, staff and community, I have to say this has been one of the most accomplishment laden periods of my career. Together we have really made a significant change in our operations, finances and customer service.”

“Grass Valley has a team of dedicated employees who have worked together to change the way we do business over these past three years. Objective leadership combined with our team have given city government the opportunity to excel in this new era. Although, we will miss Mr. Richardson’s leadership, Grass Valley will continue to be a vanguard city throughout the rural California communities. The City of Grass Valley will provide support to economic opportunities, historic and cultural resources and community pride!” said Howard Levine, Mayor.

“The skill set I’m really good at,” Richardson said, “includes creating efficient organizations, developing strong teams, restoring financial health and moving a city forward.  Frankly, because of the City Council’s consistent focus and an excellent staff, we condensed 6 or 7 years of work into 3. So now we have set the stage for Grass Valley’s next steps into the future.”

“I will very much miss working for the City Council and Community of Grass Valley, but will enjoy watching your continued success in the future.”

A sample of City Hall’s accomplishments over the past three years:

Restructured City Hall operations to meet more austere fiscal requirements while increasing productivity.

Crafted solutions to $5.5 million fiscal challenge.

Dramatically elevated customer service.

Hired new Fire Chief, Finance Director and Police Chief.

Positioned the City to begin significant park improvements

Created entirely new front counter services.

Crafting new development review process.

Helped beautify Downtown with Paint the Town Projects.

Saw dramatic drop in citizen complaints.

Brought financial system up to professional standards.

Completely audited financial ledger.

Created greater depth in Personnel System.

Placed Management on Pay for Performance contracts.

Adopted only balanced budgets.

Substantially reduced visual homelessness.

Successfully closed drug houses.

Automated payroll system.

Main Street Clean up started a new proactive style of code enforcement.

Tripled reserves.

Crafted new community funding standards.

Negotiated performance program for Middle Management.

Assisted GVDA with their fiscal hurdles.

Developed several joint recreation programs.

Began new code enforcement processes.

Worked to ensure a smooth & transparent  Measure N process.