San Bernardino holds closed-session interviews for permanent city manager; no reportable action

The San Bernardino mayor and city council convened a special closed session at 5:35 p.m. to conduct additional interviews for the permanent city manager position and returned to open session at 9:06 p.m., after which the City Attorney reported there was "no reportable item" from the closed session.

The closed session concerned personnel interviews for a permanent city manager, a key administrative post. The session followed one in-person public comment by Luis Ojeda, who criticized the council's selection process and said frequent changes in city managers had harmed consistency. "I've been around this process many, many, many times, and it's not working, and it's not gonna work," Ojeda said. He also told the council a prior interim manager, Rochelle, had tried to work with the trucking industry but was overruled, saying a city official told her to "forget about that." Written comments were also distributed to the mayor and council and included in the online agenda backup, the clerk said.

After returning from closed session, the City Attorney said, "The mayor and council met in closed session, to conduct additional interviews for the permanent city manager position. There is no reportable item from closed session." The council did not announce any appointments or take any public votes related to the interviews during open session.

The council adjourned the special meeting at 9:06 p.m. and scheduled a joint regular meeting of the mayor and city council and related agencies for April 16, 2025, at Feldheim Central Library, 555 West Sixth Street, San Bernardino; closed session will begin at 3 p.m. and open session at 5 p.m.

No motions, votes, appointments, or formal directions resulting from the closed-session interviews were disclosed at the meeting's end.