City manager leaving Half Moon Bay

“I will be here to support the council, the community and staff to have a successful transition after I leave,” Nisbet said.

Half Moon Bay Mayor Debbie Ruddock thanked Nisbet for his work and wished him well in his new position.

“Bob led the city during a very tough period,” Ruddock said by email. “Yet under his leadership, Half Moon Bay has not just weathered the twin COVID health and economic crises but also thrived. He was the right leader at City Hall at the right time, keeping an eye on finances while taking advantage of new opportunities to enhance our community life. Bob is a really nice guy, unafraid to reach out and meet with everyone.”

Nisbet served as city manager for nearly four years after being hired in 2018, leading the city through a difficult period during the pandemic. Before becoming Half Moon Bay’s top executive, he was the assistant general manager for the East Bay Regional Park District. Nisbet signed a three-year contract extension in September that gave him a pay hike to reach a base salary of $260,150. Nisbet said he was proud of his work and the trust he developed with staff, council and community as keys to success.

“All our accomplishment and all we’ve done the last three and a half years really comes from that,” Nisbet said.

He said his biggest accomplishments were passing a Local Coastal Program around land use planning and zoning that will last 25 years, stabilizing budget finances during the pandemic, passing local hotel taxes, and working with the county to create the coastside homeless shelter for residents. Significant challenges were the pandemic and how to best address public safety in Half Moon Bay, with some progress but more work to be done.

The Goleta City Council approved Nisbet’s hiring at its July 19 meeting to replace its outgoing city manager, who is retiring. Nisbet said the hiring process went well, and the position was a good fit for him and his family, citing his connections and friends living in Santa Barbara County. Nisbet’s first day in Goleta will be Sept. 1.

“I used to live down there, and that’s home for me,” Nisbet said. “I lived in the Santa Barbara area for 25 years.”

Nisbet went to graduate school at the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1987. He spent 12 years with the Santa Barbara County General Services Department and seven years as the Public Works director for Carpinteria in the Santa Barbara area before leaving for the Bay Area in 2012.

Councilmember Harvey Rarback said Nisbet and several other city staff members are leaving soon, requiring further hirings and changes for city staff.

“We are going to have to do some major reorganization, but nobody has really discussed the next steps,” Rarback said.

Rarback said the council was open to hiring from within the city or outside to find the best candidate but, if all things were equal, would prefer to hire someone local. He praised Nisbet for being very responsive to the council’s requests and his work addressing homelessness and affordable housing, two priorities for Rarback.

curtis@smdailyjournal.com

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