Finance director Steve Charelian retires after 35 year career with the City of MB
by Mark McDermott Finance Director Steve Charelian is retiring after a 35 year career with the City of Manhattan Beach. His final day is July 5. Charelian has served as the head of the Finance Department since 2018, taking over after his predecessor, Bruce Moe, was named City Manager. He had big shoes to fill. Moe was lauded locally and regionally for his stewardship of city finances and particularly in helping Manhattan Beach earn its much-vaunted AAA bond rating, the highest credit rating possible for a city. Charelian proved more than up to the task. During his tenure, the City faced one of the biggest financial challenges in its history, the COVID-19 pandemic. Charelian provided a steady, experienced hand, and the City emerged from the pandemic on strong footing. Charelian was instrumental in helping the City make some critical course corrections, such as seizing on historically low interest rates to issue $91 million in pension obligation bonds, saving an estimated $31.8 million over the next 25 years in retirement costs. Likewise, Charelian played a key role in addressing gaps in City funding, including an increase to its transient occupancy tax that generated $1.25 million…
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