SANTA MONICA—After the announcement was made last month that current Public Works Director of Santa Monica, Martin Pastucha would be retiring effective July 8, 2016, the city of Santa Monica began its search for a replacement. On Wednesday, July 6, City Manager Rick Cole announced in a press release that he had selected Susan Cline to become the next Director of the Santa Monica Public Works Department.
The Department of Public Works is responsible for upholding and providing essential services to the community such as water resources, architecture services, civil engineering, resource recovery and recycling, cemetery, pier management, street maintenance, fleet services, facilities management, and custodial services.
Cline served as the Assistant Director for over six years and has nearly 20 years of leadership experience in public sector planning, operations, and management. On two previous occasions in her career, Cline served as the interim Director of Public Works.
“The responsibility of running the team that provides the backbone public services our community relies on 24/7 is a special and demanding one,” said City Manager Rick Cole in a statement. “As a proven leader, Susan has demonstrated her ability to empower our workforce, pursue innovation, and promote environmental sustainability. I am pleased she will lead Public Works in serving our unique community.”
Cline’s education includes a Master of Planning from the University of Southern California and a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology from the University of California, Irvine. She is an acting member of the American Public Works Association and was a former executive board member and founding organizer of the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust. She served five years on the Los Angeles District Council Executive Committee of the Urban Land Institute.
While holding the position of Assistant Director of Public Works, Cline managed an operating budget of $125 million. She oversaw nine divisions with a combined staff of more than 500 employees.
“I am truly honored to be promoted to serve the City of Santa Monica as Public Works Director,” said Cline regarding her new position. “Having worked alongside the exemplary employees in Public Works for more than six years, I have firsthand knowledge of how fortunate the City is to have such a dedicated work force, and I am proud to continue to support their work as they serve the community by keeping the City clean and beautiful, building and maintaining critical infrastructure, as well as setting the standard for a sustainable City.”
Before joining the city of Santa Monica in 2010, Cline was the Senior Development Team Manager for Los Angeles Unified School District. During her time with the school district, she led all reconstruction activities for new school building projects and managed a portfolio of $716 million for Pre-K through Adult Education projects.
Cline will take over for the retired Pastucha and assume all of his duties on Monday, July 11. She will receive the city funded salary of $261,240 annually.
