John Bramble hired as City Manager

MERCED – John Bramble was hired Monday night to be the new City Manager for Merced. Bramble, currently the City Manager of Brighton, Co., will begin on Dec. 1.

Bramble replaces Jim Marshall, who retired March 31 after serving as City Manager for 16 years. Marshall has stayed on as the interim City Manager.

The Council unanimously approved a motion agreeing to “work together” with the new City Manager after voting 5-2 to approve Brighton’s contract.

Bramble has been the Brighton City Manager since 1996. Located outside Denver, Brighton is a town of 33,000 people that is in transition from its agricultural roots into a more urban community. The City has 250 fulltime employees and 300 part-time workers.

In August the Danish company Vestas announced plans to build two wind turbine manufacturing plants in Brighton that would ultimately employ 1,400 people.

In Brighton, Bramble also oversaw completion of a downtown entertainment center project, negotiations for a mixed use commercial/retail/housing development and creation of a life-long learning center in downtown Brighton.

Bramble has 37 years of government experience, working in the Colorado communities of Pueblo and Commerce City; the City of Las Vegas and the California communities of Bell and Belmont. He has a bachelor's degree in economics from Oregon State University, a master of public administration degree from the University of Nevada and was an adjunct professor at the University of Southern Colorado.

The 5-year contract pays $171,653 a year.