Scott Stiles Named City Manager in Palm Springs

City Council selects Garden Grove City Manager Scott Stiles

PALM SPRINGS — Scott C. Stiles, City Manager of Garden Grove has been selected by the City Council to be the next Palm Springs City Manager.

He will replace Justin Clifton who resigned the position after serving slightly more than a year.

Joy Brown Meredith alluded to the hire on her Facebook page Thursday. She cryptically posted, “Someone we will all get to know soon — Scott Stiles.”

Stiles’ employment agreement will be considered at the Jan. 26 City Council meeting. If approved, he will begin his new position at Palm Springs City Hall on Monday, March 6.

Stiles has served the City of Garden Grove for the past seven years and oversees the day-to-day operations of nine city departments with 640 employees.

According to a city-issued news release, some of his major accomplishments include spearheading a continuum care strategy related to homelessness that involved the rollout of an innovative mobile mental health program, developing Garden Grove’s first permanent supportive housing program, mobilizing a regional effort to open an 85-bed Homeless Navigation Center, and building a partnership with Cal Optima to pilot a first-ever street medicine program. He also led the city through a change in elected leadership and voting structure, transitioning Garden Grove to a biennial budget process and eliminating a $4.2 million deficit in fiscal year 2019 while at the same time guiding Garden Grove through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic; ultimately helping the city emerge with grants and loans for small businesses.

Prior to the City of Garden Grove, Stiles served as Interim City Manager of Cincinnati, Ohio from December 2013 – September 2014. He served eight years as Cincinnati’s Assistant City Manager from February 2005 -December 2013.

Stiles spent 27 years with the City of Cincinnati beginning in the Human Resources Department as a Personnel Analyst in 1987 — and moving his way up to the City’s Law department as an Assistant Legal Administrator and then Real Estate Manager before being promoted to Assistant to the City Manager in July of 2002.

“We are excited to welcome Scott Stiles to Palm Springs. With decades of experience in city administration, he brings a wealth of expert knowledge and a desire to improve systems, mentor staff as they advance in their careers, and collaborate with residents and stakeholders to move Palm Springs forward,” Mayor Grace Garner said in a statement. “Scott will be an outstanding leader and we are excited to welcome him to the Palm Springs community.”

Stiles holds a B.S. in Journalism and Geography from South Dakota State University and a Master of Community Planning from the University of Cincinnati. He is a graduate of the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service’s Senior Executive Institute in Charlottesville, Virginia. In 2018, Stiles received the League of California Cities Award for Advancement of Diverse Communities.

“The City of Palm Springs is one of the most vibrant, welcoming and diverse communities in the nation and I am humbled and honored to be selected to lead this dynamic city and resort destination as it moves into the future,” Stiles said in a statement. “I look forward to collaborating with the City Council, community and staff and I am incredibly excited about this next step in my career.”