Palm Springs City Manager Scott Stiles to retire Nov. 1
Stiles, who joined the city in March 2023, cited a public service career spanning more than four decades in an email sent to employees Tuesday morning.
Palm Springs City Manager Scott Stiles notified city staff Tuesday that he plans to retire effective Nov. 1.
Stiles sent the announcement in an email to colleagues and fellow city employees Tuesday morning, saying he wanted them to hear the news directly from him. He said he had informed City Council members shortly before sending the email.
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“It is with deep gratitude, and no small measure of pride in what we have accomplished together, that I formally notify you of my intention to retire as City Manager of the City of Palm Springs, effective November 1, 2026,” Stiles wrote.
Stiles said his time in Palm Springs, which began in March 2023, capped a public service career of more than 43 years. “Palm Springs is genuinely like no place else: its history, its character, its engaged and passionate residents, and the quality of people who choose to work in its service make it an extraordinary place to lead,” he wrote.
In the email, Stiles listed a number of initiatives completed during his tenure as city manager. He said the city navigated a weather emergency and secured $50 million in bridge funding afterward, and he pointed to the opening of the Navigation Center, which he said added 135 units of emergency overnight housing and began to reduce homelessness in the city.
Stiles also cited balanced biennial budgets, a Strategic Pension Funding Plan and a $28 million lump-sum payment to CalPERS. He said the city eliminated a backlog of building permits and launched a community engagement platform.
Among the infrastructure projects Stiles listed were the completed restoration of the Plaza Theatre, the Sunrise Park Library renovation, multiple Parks & Recreation improvements, approved construction plans for a new Fire Station 1, an Airport Master Plan and a $135 million Convention Center modernization and expansion initiative.
Stiles said the city also worked with private-sector partners on tourism development, including the opening of the Thompson Hotel, along with other hotel, vacation, retail, restaurant and nonprofit property investments. He said residential investors have continued to build and renovate market-rate and affordable housing in the city.
Stiles credited city staff for the work accomplished during his tenure, including public safety and public works personnel who responded during Tropical Storm Hilary and the IVF bombing, as well as the finance team and internal service employees. “None of it would have been possible without all of you!” he wrote.
“It has been the honor of my professional life to serve as your City Manager,” Stiles wrote in closing. “I’ll hope to have more opportunities to thank you in the coming weeks.”
Editor’s note: This is breaking news and will be updated as we learn more.
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