Steve McHarris
Steve McHarris, who has been serving as Milpitas’ Interim City Manager since June 2019, was appointed to the permanent position by a unanimous vote of the Milpitas City Council at its meeting on Tuesday, May 19. McHarris brings three decades of community service with several local government agencies to his new role, including several in the Bay Area.
“Prior to the global pandemic, our City was strongly humming, core services were performing like never before and our City revenues broke record after record. It was in large part to the City Manager’s Office and Steve McHarris, my first choice as our City Manager to lead us through these challenging times,” says Milpitas Mayor Richard Tran. “His permanent contract is a commitment to our City government and rebounding from the economic recession like no other City in Silicon Valley. We are ready to continue onwards with public management to ensure Milpitas prospers at the highest level, while putting Milpitas families first, pandemic or not.”
McHarris previously served as Milpitas deputy city manager, overseeing operations related to building and housing, planning, and engineering, along with economic development and related inspection activities and development services. He is widely-known for his community focus, strong leadership skills and deep knowledge of issues affecting local and regional government in the Bay Area.
McHarris has 30 years of public service experience, including his previous role in Milpitas as the Director of Planning and Neighborhood Services for three years until 2015, when he joined the City of San Jose as its planning official of the San Jose Planning, Building, and Code Enforcement Department. He has also held planning roles for the cities of Fremont, Soledad, and Atascadero and for the University of California, Irvine. A graduate of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona and California State University, Fullerton, he holds a master’s degree in public administration and is an AICP certified planner.
“I am appreciative of the City Council appointing me to the position permanently, and I am committed to working together with a remarkably talented City workforce as we begin to rebound from the devastating effects of COVID-19,” said McHarris. “For me, the position is all about the community we serve and how the City Council, appointed officials, volunteers, and staff can work together as we tackle many important issues. While we certainly have financial and operational challenges ahead, we have a long history of making good decisions and I am honored to partner with the City Council and City team as we move forward.”
McHarris’ salary was set at $334,367 annually and his appointment goes into effect on May 18, 2020.
About the City of Milpitas
Located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay, Milpitas is a progressive community that is an integral part of Silicon Valley. A full-service city with water utility, sewer utility, police and fire services, Milpitas celebrates a diverse population of nearly 80,000. Under a Council-Manager form of government, the City Council has established the following seven priority areas of service and policy: public safety, environment, transportation and transit, economic development and job growth, neighborhoods and housing, community wellness and open space, and governance and administration. More information at: http://www.ci.milpitas.ca.gov/