Santa Monica’s Chief Financial Officer Steve Stark has accepted the position of finance director for the City of Pasadena, where he will begin work September 11.
Stark’s exit adds to the list of recently departed and departing City officials that already includes former City Manager Susan McCarthy, Police Chief James T. Butts, Jr., Planning Director Suzanne Frick, Resource Manager Jeff Mathieu and Assistant to the City Manager, Judy Rambeau Franz. Within the past 19 months, Santa Monica has also lost SMC President Piedad F. Robertson, SMMUSD Superintendent John Deasy and SAMOHI Chief Education Officer Ilene Strauss, who left to become to become Director of Secondary Education in the SMMUSD.
City Manager P. Lamont Ewell said, “We are sorry to see Steve go, but understand that the Pasadena opportunity was too good for him to pass up. They are fortunate to get someone of Steve’s caliber, and we will miss him.” Santa Monica has a population of 88,000 and an annual budget of $411 million; Pasadena’s population is 144,000 and its annual budget is $508 million, both according to a Pasadena announcement.
Stark will remain on the job in Santa Monica until September 6. No determination has yet been made as to who will assume his duties at that time.
Stark has headed Santa Monica’s Finance Department since 2003. Previously, he was director of administrative services and city treasurer of the city of Santa Clarita from 1992 to 2003, and before that held top positions for the cities of Fontana, California and Arlington, Texas. His bachelor of business administration degree is from West Texas University, and he is certified as a California municipal treasurer and a government financial manager.
In Pasadena, Stark will manage 144 employees in the activities of the treasury, municipal services, accounting and reporting, purchasing and liability, pension system administration, payroll, budget preparation and auditing; his department there also manages the city’s information technology services.
