Synopsis:
This evening, the Westlake Village City Council announced that it has selected Palo Alto Deputy City Manager Robert de Geus (prounounced “de-goes”) to serve as the City of Westlake Village’s City Manager. Mr. De Goes will be replacing Ray Taylor who served as City Manager for nearly 26 years, and recently retired. One of the council’s primary responsibilities is to hire and manage the City Manager, and as such each and every council member has been deeply involved in the process to date.

On Wed, Jan 23, the council will vote officially to approve the three-year contract negotiated. If the contract is approved as expected, Mr. de Geus will start on March 11 after relocating from Northern California to the local area. Until that time, Mr. Daniel Jordan, the Finance Director for the City of Westlake Village, will continue to serve as Interim City Manager.

More Detail, from City’s official announcement:
Mr. de Geus is currently Deputy City Manager for the City of Palo Alto where he has worked for the past 19 years. As Deputy City Manager de Geus focused on externally facing departments including Fire, Police, Office of Emergency Services, Office of Transportation, Planning and Community Environment, Libraries, and Community Services. Prior to holding the position of Deputy City Manager, de Geus held the position of Director of Community Services for Palo Alto, one of the largest departments in the city, where he managed an extensive network of parks, trails and open space, recreation and arts services and facilities.

Areas of focus and passion for de Geus include economic health and vitality, community engagement, public private partnerships, environmental sustainability and community health and wellness. Born and raised in Melbourne, Australia, Mr. de Geus earned his Masters degree in Public Administration and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management, both from San Jose State University.

Terms of his employment, and full employment agreement to be voted on by the City Council, are available as part of the published agenda for the January 23, 2019 City Council meeting. The City Council will consider approval of an employment agreement with Mr. de Geus at its January 23, 2019 regular meeting. Mr. de Geus will begin employment with the City of Westlake Village in early March once he has completed his remaining Palo Alto matters. Until that time, Mr. Daniel Jordan, the Finance Director for the City of Westlake Village, will continue to serve as Interim City Manager.