SEAL BEACH : New Mayor, Council to Hire Interim Manager

Shortly after council members chose Marilyn Bruce Hastings on Monday night to serve as the city’s new mayor, they gathered behind closed doors to discuss last week’s unexpected resignation of City Manager Jerry L. Bankston.

“It was more than a surprise; it was more like a shock,” said Hastings, who replaces Councilman George Brown for a one-year term as mayor. “We had hoped he would be with us for a long time.”

Bankston, 49, will leave Seal Beach June 30 to become city manager of La Habra for $98,000 a year. He has been Seal Beach’s city manager since June, 1991, when he was hired away from Paso Robles, where he also was city manager.

Council members agreed Monday night to hire an interim city manager during the search for a permanent replacement, which is expected to take three to six months.

Bankston is credited with helping eliminate Seal Beach’s $1.2-million budget deficit of four years ago. He also presided over sharp reductions in city staff. He currently receives $84,972 a year.

“The council always gets criticized for the high salaries that our city managers get,” Councilman Frank Laszlo said. “Because of that criticism, we don’t pay as much as other cities, and therefore our city managers are easily lured away.”

But Hastings said the small salary reflects the small size of the city. The city’s Leisure World and Surfside communities are private and self-governed, leaving only about 14,000 residents who depend on city government for services, she said.

The timing of Bankston’s departure will be tough on the city, council members said, because of the coming battles over the proposed Bixby Ranch Co. residential development and new plans under consideration for Main Street and the city’s downtown area.