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The Mayor and City Council Have Appointed Rochelle Clayton as Acting City Manager on a Temporary Basis
SAN BERNARDINO, CA— In a special closed session meeting held on May 22, the San
Bernardino Mayor and City Council voted to exercise the severance provision in City Manager Charles Montoya’s employment agreement.
The City Attorney gave the closed session report at the end of the meeting saying, “By unanimous vote of the City Council the City has terminated Charles Montoya’s employment contract pursuant to Section 11.7 which is termination without cause. The council also voted to appoint Rochelle Clayton temporary acting city manager until the council takes further action. This action was taken by a 5-3 vote with Council Member Sanchez, Ibarra, and Alexander voting no.”
Montoya served the city for seven months.
Rochelle Clayton was hired in April 2024 as Deputy City Manager, overseeing the Public Works; Community Development and Housing; and the Parks, Recreation and Community Services Departments.
Clayton is very familiar with San Bernardino as she grew up and raised her family in the City. Clayton also spent seventeen years with the County of San Bernardino in various finance administration roles, including as Deputy Chief.
For the past five years, Clayton served as Assistant City Manager of Menifee, overseeing the Police, Fire, Community Services, Information Technology, Finance, Human Resources, and City Clerk departments.
In other past roles, she served as Deputy City Manager and Administrative Services Director for the City of Banning, the Chief Financial Officer for the West Valley Water District in Rialto, and the Finance Director for the City of La Habra Heights.
