Starbuck Out as Elk Grove Economic Development Director

August 30, 2014 | Randy Starbuck is out as Elk Grove's Economic Development Director. An official statement from the city says ...

August 30, 2014 |

Randy Starbuck is out as Elk Grove's Economic Development Director.

An official statement from the city says "City of Elk Grove Economic Development Director, Randy Starbuck, is leaving the City to pursue other opportunities.  His responsibilities with the City have concluded.  Randy will be on paid leave through October 17, 2014, when his employment with the City will end.  We appreciate all of the contributions Randy has made to the City of Elk Grove over the past three years and wish him all the best in the future."

Starbuck, whose primary experience before coming to Elk Grove was in redevelopment, was hired in October 2011. Previous to working for Elk Grove, Starbuck was a redevelopment director for Pittsburg, Calif.
Elk Grove City Council Member Pat Hume criticizes
former Elk Grove Economic Development Director 
Randy Starbuck at the March 26, 2014 city council meeting.

Just as Starbuck was being hired, the city formed its own redevelopment agency. However the State of California ended funding for these agencies and Starbuck's role evolved into being an economic development director.

In recent months Starbuck's quarterly activity reports were placed in the consent calendar portion of city council meeting agendas. Previously, Starbuck presented his quarterly activity reports to the city council as a regular agenda item.

At the March 22, 2014 city council meeting, Starbuck, City Manager Laura Gill and the city's economic development activities were criticized by Elk Grove residents. Joining in the criticism were Mayor Gary Davis and Council Member Pat Hume.   

At that time both Davis and Hume said they wanted the reports to be part of the regular agenda. Since that time, no economic development reports have been included as regular city council meeting agenda items.

Over his tenure as economic development director, one of Starbuck's primary focus was on resurrecting construction of the unfinished Outlets Collection at Elk Grove, formerly known as the Elk Grove Promenade. Starbuck regularly attended trade shows in Las Vegas in hopes of generating interest from possible tenants.

Although the facility's owner, the Howard Hughes Company, announced the conversion of the Promenade to the Outlets this spring, since that time no tenants have been announced and construction has not resumed.    



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6 comments

City's Revolving Door said...

Randy Starbuck is the latest of the top management hires who weren't right for Elk Grove. How many Transit Managers have we had? Human Resource Directors? Planning Directors? Budget Managers?

These are high paying jobs with great benefits; yet people aren't long for Elk Grove.

How many employees have to come and go, along with hefty severance packages -- Susan Burns Cochran cost us a boat load -- until someone finally has the courage on the Council to look no further than the City Manager?

Mark Felt said...

The number of executives who have come and gone during Gill's tenure, some very good public servants like Katy Baumbach, Don Hazen, some mediocre one's like Susan Cochrane, and poor one's like Randy Starbuck, ought to tell us something about Gill.

And yet she and her husband, both of whom feed, no gorge, at the public trough of Sacramento County taxpayers and live in in El Dorado County ought to tell Elk Grove taxpayers something. IMHO either the current council members, to paraphrase Gil Moore, have no cojones, or Gill is playing a sort of a J. Edgar Hoover with council members. There is something wrong with this picture. As I told Woodward in parking structures, follow the money.

lyn said...

Corrupt as Bell, Bankrupt as Vallejo.

Anonymous said...

Who didn't see this one coming?

Anonymous said...

Ms. Gill is a terrible City Manager . 100%+ turnover of upper management-- good and bad employees. Employees still there undoubtedly looking for new work.

Anonymous said...

Laura Gill is an awful City Manager. 100%+ turnover in Senior Management under her tenure. Good and bad employees both. Those still there undoubtedly looking for work elsewhere.

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