Which top Redding and Shasta County employees left, retired or got hired in 2023?

Redding city and Shasta County officials hired new people to high-profile positions in 2023, following the retirements of some longtime employees.

New and familiar faces filled those vacated spots over the past 12 months, including a new Redding police chief, city treasurer and public works director.

Here's a list of some of the prominent Redding and county employees who came and went in 2023.

John Andoh

John Andoh became the Redding Area Bus Authority transit manager in late April. Andoh oversees RABA's day-to-day operations. His job is to support the board of directors, facilitate and implement the city's short-range transit plan, pursue grant funding and help develop RABA policies, according to the city. He's also responsible for improving equal access to transportation programs and services, and for promoting sustainable transportation: Walking, biking and mass transit use. Andoh's previous position was administrator and general manager at Hele-On mass transit agency in Hawai’i County, the city reported.

Chuck Aukland

Longtime city employee Chuck Aukland retired as Redding's director of Public Works before November. Aukland took the job in June 2018 when the former director, Brian Crane, retired. Aukland worked with Crane as his assistant public works director prior to succeeding him. The department handles engineering projects, streets and traffic, environmental management, and Redding's water, wastewater and garbage services, according to the city.

Brian Barner

Redding Police Capt. Brian Barner became the city's police chief in November, following former Chief Bill Schueller's retirement. Barner joined the Redding Police Department as a police explorer in 1992 while a Shasta High School junior and has moved up through the ranks since he was a cadet in 1994, he said. Barner is Redding’s third police chief in six years.

Al Cathey

Al Cathey retired as director of Shasta County Public Works in July. Cathey, who worked for the county for 28 years, held the directorship for less than a year.

Allyn Feci Clark

Allyn Feci Clark retired from the elected position of Redding Director of Finance/City Treasurer early in 2023.

Rubin Cruse Jr.

Rubin Cruse Jr. retired as Shasta County council in April after more than 12 years in the position. Shasta County supervisors appointed Cruse to the position which carries a four-year term, in January 2020. Cruse was the attorney for Shasta County, the Board of Supervisors and all other county offices, departments, boards and commissions. His office also serves as legal adviser for the Shasta County Grand Jury.

Sheri DeMaagd

Redding Assistant City Manager and Personnel Director Sheri DeMaagd retired early in 2023 after a long career with the city, Redding Communications Manager Katie Hunter said in May.

Among her accomplishments, DeMaagd worked with Redding Fire Marshal Craig Wittner and Redding Planning Manager Lily Toy to get grant money to help with wildfire planning after the Carr Fire destroyed 270 homes within city limits.

Barry DeWalt

Barry DeWalt retired in December after serving as Redding city attorney since May 2015. He was assistant city attorney from 2003 to 2015. Before that he worked for Shasta County as a senior deputy county counsel, was a circuit prosecutor for the California District Attorney's Association and was a U.S. Navy staff judge advocate, according to the city.

Kari Kibler

Kari Kibler became Redding Personnel Director on June 12 after Sheri DeMaagd retired from the position early in 2023. Kibler took the job after working for the county for 15 years, including five years as a manager in the Support Services Department. The personnel director makes personnel-related decisions for more than 1,100 city workers, according to the city.

Joseph Larmour

On Dec. 19, Shasta County Supervisors hired Joseph Larmour as Shasta County counsel. He left the same position in Yuba County after holding that job for less than five months. Larmour is the fifth person hired as Shasta County counsel in 2023.

Travis Menne

Travis Menne, then 36, became Redding's Community Services Department Director after longtime director Kim Niemer retired in mid-October. Menne was previously senior projects coordinator at the department where he worked with Niemer for seven years, according to Redding City Manager Barry Tippin. Among his department's current high-profile projects are revamping South City Park and developing the new Panorama Park on Redding's northwest side, which will contain the city’s first community recreation center.

Pam Mize

Redding City Clerk Pam Mize retired on June 30 after she served in her elected office more than a decade. Mize last ran for the office unopposed on Nov. 8, 2022. At the time, she said she couldn't remember a time she'd faced an opponent for the office.

James Mu

The Shasta County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to hire Dr. James Mu, a Redding family doctor, as the county’s public health officer on Oct. 17. Supervisors Kevin Crye, Chris Kelstrom and Patrick Jones voted to hire Mu; Tim Garman and Mary Rickert voted no. Mu was the fourth candidate considered for the job after supervisors fired Dr. Karen Ramstrom in May 2022, objecting to her enforcement of state and county COVID-19 mandates. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mu was among 12 medical providers who spoke out against coronavirus vaccine mandates.

Kim Niemer

Kim Niemer retired as the Director of Community Services in October after working for the city for 27 years, according to Tippin. Under her direction, and now under Menne, the department spearheads recreation programs, park and trail development, libraries, park maintenance and communications, and oversees Big League Dreams Park, Redding Civic Auditorium, California Soccer Park, the Redding Rodeo and other facilities, according to the department.

David Rickert

David Rickert took the position of Shasta County Executive Officer/Clerk of the Board on May 30. Rickert previously served as chief financial officer in Winnebago County, Illinois from 2021 to 2023. Prior to his appointment, Shasta County was without an executive officer since June, 2022. Matt Pontes resigned from the position after disagreements with Supervisor Patrick Jones during a closed-door job evaluation in April 2022. Before Rickert took the job, two acting CEOs filled in: Patrick Minturn and Mary Williams.

Greg Robinett

Redding's city council appointed Greg Robinett to the city finance officer and treasurer seat in early February, after Clark retired. The treasurer's responsibilities include managing the city's cash flow and portfolio investments, helping other city officials find new revenue streams, forging banking and broker relationships, monitoring bonds used to finance special projects (assessment district administration) and other financial duties, according to the city.

James Ross

County Counsel James Ross told Shasta County supervisors he was leaving in mid-July after less than four months on the job. He originally planned to stay until Aug. 11. At the time, Supervisor Tim Garman said he wasn't happy with the way Ross was treated, but didn't elaborate.

Bill Schueller

Former Redding Police Chief Bill Schueller retired in November after almost 30 years in Redding law enforcement, Tippin said. Schueller, 50 years old at the time, was promoted from Redding police captain to chief in September 2019, replacing former Chief Roger Moore when he retired.

Sharlene Tipton

Tippin appointed Sharlene Tipton the new Redding city clerk on July 18 after Pam Mize retired in June. Tipton worked as a recreation specialist at Redding Parks and Recreation while she was a student at Shasta College. After a stint in the private sector, she returned to work for the city as an executive assistant in the Redding Redevelopment Agency in 2008. When California dissolved the agency, Tipton moved to the city clerk’s office where she held jobs as executive assistant, assistant city clerk and interim city clerk, according to the city.

Michael Webb

The city hired Michael Webb as the director of Public Works on Nov. 1, following Aukland's retirement. Webb grew up in Redding and attended Shasta High School and Shasta College. He studied civil engineering at Chico State University, later moving back to Redding in 2005 to take a job with the California Department of Transportation.

Mary Williams

Mary Williams left her position as deputy county executive officer in mid-June. Williams was acting CEO until Rickert was hired. At the time of her leaving, Williams reported she planned to take a job with a local nonprofit.

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Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and news stories. Follow her on Twitter @RS_JSkropanic and on Facebook. Join Jessica in the Get Out! Nor Cal recreation Facebook group. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Retired or freshly hired: Redding and Shasta County shakeup in 2023