Fountain Valley honors memory of former City Manager Robert Hall

Fountain Valley City Hall was in a pensive state on Tuesday, as city officials took the time to honor the memory of former City Manager Robert Hall.

Hall, who served as the city’s top executive from August 2013 to March 2017, died on Friday after a battle with cancer, his family said. He was 64.

While his time with the city was short, Hall’s impact remains. Mayor Glenn Grandis recalled when Measure HH, a 1% increase in the local sales tax, was brought to the voters in 2016. It has since brought in revenue and will continue to do so until 2037.

“I’ve been involved with the community a long time, and I remember Bob coming to me one time and talking about [Measure] HH, and I was like, ‘Oh my god, there’s no way this is going to move forward. You got to be kidding me,’” Grandis said. “We couldn’t get a hotel tax increase in our city. ‘You want to do a sales tax increase?’

“But he was convincing, and what he did was he brought everybody together. That’s what he was. He was really a strong collaborator.”

Multiple city staffers mentioned being hired during Hall’s time with the city. Some who had worked with him in other cities also attended the meeting.

Hall’s experience in municipal government included stints as the assistant city manager of Huntington Beach (2005 to 2013), manager of the Rancho Santa Fe Assn. (2017), and interim city manager of Stanton (2018) and Laguna Niguel (2019). He was also the general services director of Riverside, where he worked from 2000 to 2005.

Maggie Le, the current city manager of Fountain Valley, joined the city as an assistant to the city manager in December 2015. In her remarks from the dais, Le said she still thinks of Hall as her “city manager for life.”

Robert Hall served as the city manager of Fountain Valley from 2013 to 2017.

(Courtesy of the city of Fountain Valley)

“He is a man of integrity, a man of his words, a straight shooter, a visionary, a man I respect and is respected in the profession and beyond,” Le said, fighting back tears as she did so. “A man who loves life and … loves his family. Even though I only worked under Bob’s leadership for a little over a year, he remains to be my trusted ally for unfiltered, honest feedback or perspective.

“I respect him in so many ways, even when I sensed he would jump over the table if that person does not stop talking. I would still be content to work under his leadership if he is still sitting in this chair. Fountain Valley is fiscally strong because of Bob’s leadership, along with our elected officials’ commitment to serve with the best interests for our community.”

The City Council presented a proclamation to Hall’s family in appreciation of his service.

Hall is survived by his wife, Deborah, and two children, Rachel and Russell.

“This community has meant so much to us,” Rachel Hall said after receiving the proclamation. “We’ve been lucky to be a part of it, continuing with recruiting, and it’s nice to see so many familiar faces around. This will always be a second home to Bob and the Hall family, so thank you so much.”