Seal Beach Hires New City Manager

After five months of searching and reviewing more than 100 candidates, the Seal Beach City Council voted unanimously to promote Acting City Manager Jill Ingram to the city’s helm permanently on Monday.

“I know we made a fantastic choice,” said City Councilman David Sloan. “She is going to do a bang-up job.”

City Councilwoman Ellery Deaton said she received several phone calls and emails from the community supporting Ingram for the job. After reviewing more than 100 applicants and conducting days of interviews, Ingram seemed to be the right fit for the city, she said.

“For me, the deciding factor for appointing her was the way she carried us through the budget (process),” said Deaton.

Ingram, who served as assistant city manager under former City Manager David Carmany, was recently promoted to acting city manager when interim City Manager Patrick Importuna stepped down on just one week’s notice. According to her profile on Linkedin.com, Ingram has been with city since 2008. Before that, she was Clerk of the Authority at the Orange County Fire Authority and the Cypress City Clerk.

Also, according to her profile, she has is expected to earn her Master of Public Administration degree from the California State University, Long Beach this year, and she holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration.

Ingram had been filling in since early March at a critical time when city staffers drafted the upcoming 2011-2012 budget. The city faces some tough decisions as it balances budget shortfalls. Under Ingram, the city recently held a series of budget workshops and solicited community input during the budget process.