Several staff changes have taken place at Thousand Oaks City Hall as a result of the recent retirement of City Manager Phil Gatch and the city council’s subsequent appointment of Assistant City Manager Scott Mitnick as interim city manager.

The city council will soon begin a search for a new city manager. Mitnick is considering applying for the position, but in the meantime he had to find a replacement for the assistant city manager position.

He decided to appoint Don Nelson, the city’s public works director, to serve as interim assistant city manager. Nelson, who has been with the city for nearly 30 years, plans to retire once a permanent city manager is chosen, according to Mitnick.

"Don is the longest-tenured department head in the city and is highly regarded," Mitnick said.

Replacing Nelson as interim public works director is Mark Watkins, who Mitnick said will probably replace Nelson when he retires.

In other changes, Cynthia Ross will return to her position as assistant to the city manager, after being moved into the community development department’s special projects two years ago when Gatch was appointed city manager. She replaces Cindy Murphy, who in turn replaces Ross in community development.

Maria Prescott, former deputy city manager, has been moved into the community and cultural services department as a manager overseeing youth and senior services, an area Mitnick said Prescott had expressed interest in.

Prescott replaces Mina Layba, who will now be in charge of legislative analysis and special projects. The city needs to do a better job of tracking federal and state legislation as well as state budget issues, said Mitnick. As part of her job Layba will travel to Sacramento and Washington, D.C.

As for Mitnick, filling in as city manager is a big job.

"It’s a little intimidating, but where there’s a challenge there’s opportunity," Mitnick said.

A political science major, Mitnick earned an undergraduate degree at Cal State Fullerton, received a scholarship to study political philosophy for a year in England, and attended Syracuse University in New York for his master’s in public administration.

Prior to joining the city of Thousand Oaks, Mitnick spent two years as a budget analyst for the city of Brea and more than seven years with the city of Burbank, beginning as a financial analyst and working his way up to a division head and assistant city manager. He also spent three and one-half years with the city of Yuba, in Northern California, as an assistant city manager and in other positions. He’s been with Thousand Oaks for the past five and one-half years.

Mitnick is most proud of the financial strategic plan the city recently adopted to help make the transition from a growth-oriented to a maintenance-oriented city as it reaches build-out.

"The best thing about being involved with local government is the ability to have a direct positive impact on people’s lives," Mitnick said.