Katie Lichtig has been selected as Santa Monica’s new Assistant City Manager/Chief Operating Officer, it was announced earlier this week.
Lichtig returns to Santa Monica City where she began her career in local government as the Assistant to the City Manager for Management Services from 1992 to 2001.
Lichtig has served as the City Manager for San Luis Obispo for the past 7.5 years and held leading positions with the Malibu and Beverly Hills before that.
“I am thrilled to re-join the team in Santa Monica,” said Katie Lichtig. “The community and City staff are tackling important issues and it is exciting for me to be a part of the innovation and change that is envisioned. I look forward to bringing my skills, experience and knowledge of Santa Monica to help the team make the vision for a 21st Century city a reality.”
City Manager Rick Cole said that he is certain Lichtig “is going to do great things in Santa Monica.”
Lichtig’s position has been retitled Chief Operating Officer (COO) “to more accurately describe the role of Assistant City Manager, which is responsible for ensuring the effective operations of an organization of 11 departments and 2,300 staff, and as the hub for the City’s leadership team,” according to the City. She will begin her role in early October 2017 with a salary of $275,508.