City of San Luis Obispo names new assistant city manager
Scott Collins.
Collins is set to begin his role on Dec. 5
– The City of San Luis Obispo has selected Scott Collins, executive director of the Housing Authority of San Luis Obispo, as its new assistant city manager. Collins is set to begin his role on Dec. 5.
Collins, who has held executive roles in local governments across the Central Coast, will oversee operations within the city’s community service group, including supervising the department directors for community development, parks and recreation, public works, and utilities. The assistant city manager position reports directly to the city manager and is a key partner in city administration.
“Scott has a proven record of being an inclusive, collaborative, and innovative local leader,” said City Manager Whitney McDonald. “His wealth of experience at the local level of government across the Central Coast will be invaluable to the city of San Luis Obispo. I look forward to Scott joining our team and contributing significantly to our community through transparency, collaboration, and strong relationships while leading initiatives that will enhance the city’s success.”
Collins expressed his enthusiasm about joining the city’s team, stating, “The city is a leader on critical issues of our time – diversity, equity and inclusion; climate change; housing; homelessness; fostering economic vitality for all – and I am excited to join the team and help our community reach its ambitious strategic goals. I am honored to lead the dynamic community services group, and I am committed to ensuring that we effectively implement city council goals and city manager directives while maintaining a pace that is sustainable for all.”
In his current role at HASLO, Collins leads a team of 75 employees with an annual operations budget of $50 million, providing affordable housing and related services to nearly 5,000 individuals throughout San Luis Obispo County. He also collaborates with local partners, including the city of San Luis Obispo, to support affordable housing projects.
Previously, Collins served as city manager of Morro Bay for five years, where he supervised department leaders across various city services, including police, fire, harbor, public works, and community development. Before that, he was deputy city manager for the city of Santa Cruz, managing the public works and parks and recreation departments and overseeing policy issues and communications. Collins also served as assistant to the city manager for Boulder, a city with operational similarities to San Luis Obispo.
Collins holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a master’s degree in public administration from George Washington University.
