Sutter County’s top administrator to resign
Scott Mitnick to leave for better work-family balance
Just two years after becoming Sutter County’s top administrator, Scott Mitnick is resigning.
Mitnick is leaving public service after 30 years to join the private sector for a better work-family balance, Mitnick said in an office interview Wednesday. He will be leaving total pay and benefits at $325,668 as of last year, according to Transparent California – the highestpaid county administrator in Sutter County history.
“I am proud of the role I played in working with so many talented employees to make Sutter County a stronger organization today than it was two years ago, and look forward to watching it build on the foundation laid to prosper for many years to come,” he said in a press release.
Mitnick came to the county after working as an investment banker for a public finance company in Los Angeles. Before that, he had been terminated from his position as city manager for Thousand Oaks.
He wasn’t new to this area: he worked for Yuba City in the 1990s as an administrative services director – a dual role of assistant city manager and finance director.
The first major challenge he faced after being hired by Sutter County was the Oroville Dam spillway crisis in February 2017. He said the emergency led to more training and a better organized emergency operations center.
Then came privatization of medical and mental health care at the Sutter County Jail; preparing a countywide facilities master plan; approving a long-term lease at the former Kmart building on Gray Avenue to consolidate
criminal history in Yuba County, including several drug-related charges, weapons violations and resisting arrest charges.
The two deputies involved – one with 16 years’ experience and the other with three – were placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the officer-involved shooting investigation per department protocol, according to the release. An autopsy is scheduled for today (Thursday) to determine official cause and manner of death. Details as to how many times and where the suspect was struck by gunfire will become available after the autopsy, which will also include toxicology results. Health and Human Services employees; overseeing the Recology contract; progress on the Sutter Pointe specific plan development project; and the always-contentious homelessness issue.
Reflecting on his careers as a city manager and county administrator, Mitnick said overseeing a county was much more challenging than his role in the city, with its complexities, vast array of services, and public safety and social challenges.
“When managing a local government … we’re here to build upon the foundation left before us,” Mitnick said Wednesday. “I do wish I had more time to restructure the organization and to spend on the homelessness issue.”
The county also credited Mitnick with introducing formal countywide goals and top priorities and implementing a strong executive team.
“Scott’s experiences, leadership, and expertise helped guide the Board and organization through some tough and challenging times,” former Board chair Dan Flores said in a press release. The Board of Supervisors will discuss the selection of an interim county administrator and future recruitment options at an upcoming meeting, according to the county press release. Mitnick’s last day is Feb. 15.
Some county department heads were concerned with the salary and contract that came with the record-setting employment: former CAOS Stephanie Larsen and Jim Arkens were employed with three-year contracts; Mitnick’s was open-ended and at the discretion of the Board of Supervisors.
Mitnick’s employment agreement was approved by the board 4-0. Supervisor Mat Conant, newlyelected at the time, abstained.