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City Manager

The City Manager serves as the professional administrator of the City and is responsible for coordinating all day-to-day operations and administration. Duties include personnel and labor relations, the preparation and administration of the City budget, inter-governmental relations and organizing and implementing the City Council's policies. The City Manager is hired by the City Council and serves as the Council's chief adviser. The City Manager appoints a professional staff to help manage the organization.

Mornings with the Manager cover imageCheck out the Monterey Morning's with the Manager video playlist, and get the latest city news directly from the City Manager.

Executive Management team:
  • City Manager
  • City Attorney
  • Assistant City Manager
  • Community Development Director
  • Finance Director
  • Fire Chief
  • Human Resources Director
  • Library Director
  • Parks and Recreation Director
  • Police Chief
  • Public Works Director

Meet the City Manager, Hans Uslar

CM-Hans-Uslar-2019Web - CopyMr. Uslar began his career with the City of Monterey in 1997 as a management analyst and was promoted through the Plans and Public Works Department.  He became Assistant Director of Plans and Public Works in 2008, and Deputy City Manager/Plans and Public Works in 2012.

He played a key role in the Presidio of Monterey base operations contract, known as the Monterey Model, a benchmark for public-public partnerships since its start in 1998. He was named Assistant City Manager in 2014 and recently served as the City’s Interim City Manager.

Mr. Uslar’s previous experience includes serving as Project Manager at the Institute for Strategies and Studies in Waldbroel, Germany; Assistant Chief of Branch, Naval Policies and Strategies, Department of Defense, in Bonn, Germany; and Commanding Officer of the German Navy’s ship “Hermelin”, Kiel, Germany.

He holds a Master of Arts (MA) degree in Educational Theory from Bundeswehr University of Hamburg, Germany, and a Master of Science (MS) degree from the Naval Postgraduate School in Management.

Mr. Uslar is a member of the International City Manager’s Association and the Association of Defense Communities.

He lives in Monterey with his wife and they have a son, Ben, who lives and works in Monterey.

Fiscal Year 2023-24 Annual Operating City manager Budget Message
See the full budget document on the finance pages

Message from the City Manager, from the SUMMER 2023 edition of City focus

It's been a busy summer at city hall
The summer edition of our City Focus is here. We are excited to share with you what is going on here at City Hall and other places around town. Please enjoy reading the many short articles informing you about so many facets of our City and our City’s operations. 

Once again, the library’s summer reading program motivated hundreds of young readers to document their reading minutes in hopes of winning our precious reading awards. Hundreds of day campers visited the Monterey Sports Center. Our Day Camp at Whispering Pines Park was filled as well and our Camp Quien Sabe at Toro Park, which ran six separate weeks, was equally sold out. Many of our other recreation programs including the Playground Program, Field Sports Summer Camps, and Tiny Tots Summer Camp saw participants return in great numbers.
 
Our Monterey Sports Center, the premier fitness facility of the Monterey peninsula, has returned to almost normal occupancy. Extended opening hours – now open until 9:00 p.m. weeknights and 5:00 p.m. on weekends - a new approach to marketing, motivating instructors and fitness trainers, as well as a fully functional facility and fitness equipment, have brought back  many of our previous customers paired with new ones.  

What else is going on? Our plans to find locations for 3,654 new housing units are almost complete. Available water remains the main obstacle for meaningful implementation of the plans. Instead, Monterey is trying something new. Unfortunately, our local provider, the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District, including Monterey One Water, will not be able to supply us with enough water for 3,654 housing solutions; therefore we are exploring alternatives with the Marina Coast Water District (MCWD). Since MCWD has more water than they use and have a demand for,  why not pipe some water into Monterey’s system to allow housing and modest economic development within our City? Of course, there will be obstacles ahead, but we think we can figure out an agreement that will allow our plans to become reality. If you want more housing, this is a real option to make that happen. 
Stormwater run-off, in essence, water from Lake El Estero, presents another option to provide water for housing. Did you know, between April 2023 and July 2023, 84 AF (acre feet) of fresh lake water were funneled to the ocean? Once we have the current project completed, this water and much more will be diverted to Monterey One Water for reuse, and we will, hopefully, get credited for it. 

Lastly, this summer will be another great one for our hospitality industry and for the City, as hotel tax, sales tax and parking revenues significantly pay for Monterey’s services, including the recreation programs and the Sports Center mentioned above. Summer 2023 represents a more normal tourist season when compared to the summer of 2022, when pent-up travel demand dominated. While some data points show a slight reduction when compared to 2022, fiscally speaking, it will be still a great summer. 

If you like reading the City Focus, tell your neighbors and friends and ask them to sign up for it. If you don’t like this edition, don’t tell anyone; or, drop me a note and let me know. Either way, have a great summer everyone. On behalf of all our employees, thank you for allowing us to work for you here in California’s First City. Anda!

Communications and Outreach

The Communications and Outreach Office is a division of the City Manager's Office, and provides strategic communications, community engagement programs and media relations for the City of Monterey. The office manages the City's websites, government access TV station, and social media channels. Staff produce online newsletters, community surveys, videos, and serve as the Public Information Office in the event of an emergency. Learn more...