Fresno appoints interim city attorney ahead of recruitment effort for permanent lawyer
The Fresno City Council on Thursday voted unanimously to appoint Rina Gonzales as the interim city attorney after the former city attorney left for a new job.
Gonzales currently works as a deputy city attorney for the city of Fresno. She’s worked here since 2019. Before that, Gonzales worked for the city of Riverside as a deputy city attorney for 11.5 years. She also previously worked as an associate at a private law firm that provided legal counsel to several municipalities. She earned her law degree from the University of California, Davis School of Law, and was admitted to the California State Bar in 2003.
“I am confident that Rina will provide the leadership that the city attorney’s office needs to be successful during this time of transition,” Council President Nelson Esparza said in a statement Friday.
Gonzales’ appointment will become effective June 3.
“Rina provides a wealth of knowledge and experience having served a multitude of municipal governments since 2005,” Council Vice President Tyler Maxwell said in a statement. “I look forward to her leadership through our annual budget process.”
The Fresno City Council soon will start the recruitment process for a permanent city attorney.
Earlier this month, city officials announced the previous city attorney, Doug Sloan, had accepted a new position as the city attorney for the city of Santa Monica. Sloan was the city attorney for nine years and worked for the city of Fresno for a total of 16 years. He managed 148 employees, including code enforcement and 28 attorneys.
Unlike many of the department heads in the city’s organizational structure, the city attorney reports to the city council rather than to the mayor’s office.
In recent years, one of the major initiatives that has fallen under the city attorney’s responsibility has been the enforcement of Fresno’s Rental Housing Improvement Act, aimed at substandard rental properties across the city. Under that 2018 act and other anti-slum measures, the city attorney’s office has been tasked with developing and maintaining a list of rental units across the city for periodic inspections.
The City Council also voted a few years ago to move the city’s code enforcement department under the umbrella of the city attorney’s office. Traditionally, that department also was under the mayor and city manager’s purview.
Sloan’s departure was not without drama. After the announcement, Councilmember Garry Bredefeld alleged Sloan was leaving, in part, because Esparza extorted him. Esparza denied the allegations and now is suing Bredefeld for defamation.
Sloan’s pay in 2020 was $263,650, making him the second-highest paid person on the city’s payroll that year. Benefits boosted his total compensation in 2020 to almost $293,000.
Esparza and Maxwell’s Friday announcement did not specify whether Gonzales’ will receive a pay increase in her interim role. In 2021, she earned $168,246 in total pay and benefits, according to Transparent California.
This story was originally published May 27, 2022 at 10:35 AM.