Jane ChambersCity manager
Prior to becoming Ukiah’s city manager in May of 2008, Jane Chambers received her bachelor of arts degree from Cal State Northridge and her master of arts degree from UCLA and worked for city governments in California and Minnesota. She is the chief executive officer of a multifaceted and multimillion dollar organization that provides full services for the city of Ukiah. She oversees the police, fire, parks and public works, water, sewer and electrical and the internal support services that include resources, finance and information.
It is her job to insure the decisions of the City Council become a reality by working with her seven member executive team to manage the administrative components of research, planning and operational procedures to reach the determined goals. She enjoys working with both City Council members and department heads and believes they all share a common vision in wisely using resources to create a community that meets the needs of its residents. She supervises 174 full time employees and earns $150,000 per year.
The financial downturn for the city has been her greatest challenge. The city lost more than $1,700,000 in the last year-and-a-half because of decreased income from sales taxes, property taxes and other revenues. The revenue from the ‘08-’09 budget looked more like that of ‘05-’06 and she said residents can expect the same if not worse for the next two years.
In reorganizing to keep within budget restrictions, most services have been protected and offices will remain open five days a week. However, 22 full-time positions have been eliminated, including the front desk receptionist position, resulting in less help for people seeking services from other agencies and a longer wait time for people requesting certain information.
Other current challenges include water availability, water usage, upgrade of utilities and an increasing demand for police and fire services with a significant decrease in revenue. Communication has become more difficult as inadequate resources lead to fewer personnel, limiting effective communication between the city government and residents, Chambers said, adding that it is becoming more and more challenging to stay connected in a meaningful way to help people understand the complexities of local government.
She was happy to report that the three-year wastewater treatment plant project, the largest project ever undertaken by the city, was completed on time and on budget.