The City of Goleta announced Tuesday night that City Attorney Tim Giles is resigning, news that came the same day the City Council held a closed-session meeting to discuss releasing a public employee.
Giles has been city attorney since 2008.
“The City Attorney has resigned his position with the city,” Goleta spokeswoman Valerie Kushnerov said in a statement. “No further information on this matter will be provided as it is the city’s policy not to comment on personnel matters.”
Reached Tuesday night, Giles said the closed session was held to accept his resignation.
“There’s a lot of stuff moving on this … but I did resign,” he told Noozhawk. “I’m going to be around for a little bit for transition.
“I just had a really good run, and have been able to work on some important and exciting projects, and work with some really good people. I’m sure I’ll be able to say more once the city works out additional details.”
Giles said “it’s all a little bit sudden” and he is unsure when he’s leaving.
“I am working as quick as I can to get them set up for transition,” he said.
Giles wouldn’t comment on why he resigned, and no further details were available Tuesday night.
“We do have a deputy city attorney and have had external legal counsel in place for quite a while so I’m sure we’ll be tapping those resources,” Kushnerov said.
Before coming to Goleta, Giles spent 10 years as assistant city attorney in Thousand Oaks.
He received his law degree from Pepperdine University School of Law in 1989 after earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Wichita State University.
Giles isn’t the only department head leaving Goleta.
The city’s planning and environmental review director, Jennifer Carman, handed in her resignation last week and is leaving at the end of the month for a job in Northern California, Kushnerov confirmed.
— Noozhawk managing editor Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.