White returns to Poway City Hall

Tina White, who left a Poway City Hall job last June, will return in mid-March as the new assistant city manager.

White had been with Poway for eight years, the last three as director of administrative services, before leaving for a similar post with the La Mesa-based Helix Water District.

While in Poway, White oversaw the city’s finances, human resources, Internet technology, water billing and water conservation efforts. She was replaced by Steve Didier, the assistant to the city manager in Solana Beach.

“Besides missing the community, I missed the services, ideas and issues you get to work with in a city,” White said Friday. “I also very much missed the community involvement.”

Of her new hire, City Manager Penny Riley said White “is a talented individual with a passion for local government finance, utility rates, and operations. Tina held a variety of challenging positions during her years with the city. She is well-known in the community and widely respected by our staff for her communication ability, as well as her creative problem solving.”

The assistant city manager’s position was vacated early last month by Riley when she assumed the post of interim city manager. The City Council last Tuesday night removed the “interim” part of Riley’s new job title.

Initially, Riley had planned not to fill her old job for a while, saving some money in salary.

“The rationale for filling the position is straightforward,” Riley said. “I believe uncertainty about the management of an organization can be a distraction. Once I made the decision to step into the city manager’s role, I wanted to clarify responsibilities and fill the management vacancy on the team. It is true that recruiting Tina White allows me to complete the transition more quickly than I initially contemplated. The Poway management team will be stronger because of her return.”

White said she will make approximately $165,000 per year, a little less than the salary Riley was paid as assistant city manager. White was making $156,000 per year before leaving for the Helix job, which paid about the same.