Top-level official leaving position
City Manager Mark Denny will retire from post in October, after spending about 18 months on job
Fontana City Manager Mark Denny has resigned from his post, effective Oct. 14, city officials said Wednesday.
A search for his replacement will begin immediately, according to a news release.
“Mark arrived in Fontana in the midst of the COVID-19 shutdown and has shown extraordinary poise and leadership in guiding our City Hall team through some very difficult months,” Mayor Acquanetta Warren said in the release. “We’ve been blessed to have had the opportunity to work with such a dedicated professional and look forward to staying in contact with him as (he) takes this next step in his career journey.”
Denny, a longtime public official appointed by the City Council in April 2020, accepted a private sector position closer to his San Clemente home. He will leave Fontana City Hall a little more than 18 months after he arrived.
“I’m excited about Fontana’s future and am so very grateful to the City Council, Mayor Warren, the team here in City Hall and our residents and businesses for all the support they’ve given me,” he said in the release. “Together, we’ve made some amazing progress in the face of historic external challenges.”
Denny succeeded interim City Manager Mi
chael Milhiser in April 2020 and was one of three top administrators Fontana paid last year.
A nearly $1 million payment to former longtime City Manager Ken Hunt made him the highest paid city manager in the state in 2020, even though he announced his retirement in July 2019.
Prior to his departure, Hunt and the city signed a settlement agreement outlining the terms of his resignation. The pact placed Hunt on paid leave effective July 12, 2019, until his resignation on Jan. 31, 2020. Once he resigned, the city had to pay him 12 months of his base pay, plus a longevity bonus, and continue to offer him health benefits for at least a year unless he found other work.
In return, Hunt waived his rights to any potential claim against the city.
Hunt, who led Fontana City Hall for more than 20 years, has since become the top aide for San Bernardino County Supervisor Janice Rutherford.