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The city of Livermore recently welcomed Dustin Claussen as its new administrative services director and rehired his predecessor for a short-term role to help the city develop its upcoming budget during a period of staffing transitions.
Claussen assumed the post Aug. 31, taking over for Tina Olson, who retired in May. Claussen most recently worked as the deputy city manager of San Leandro.
Marking another shift in Livermore city staffing, it hired Susan Nunes as its finance manager following a separate retirement. Nunes was also an employee of the city of San Leandro, according to her Linkedin.
The city onboarded Olson last week, given the Livermore City Council’s approval of her return during its Sept. 14 regular meeting.
“Looking forward to working with all of you and continuing to do the great work that we do as a city organization for our community,” Claussen said during the council meeting.
As the city’s administrative services director, Claussen oversees about 40 staff across divisions of finance, human resources and information technology.
He took on the role with over 20 years of experience in finance and administration, including over a decade of leadership in local government, according to a statement from the city announcing Claussen’s appointment.
While working as the San Leandro deputy city manager, he supervised 48 employees and oversaw city operations. Previously, he worked at the city of Hayward for over a decade as assistant city manager and finance director.
During his career, Claussen created a 10-year financial model, secured a partnership to help fund a $55 million community park and supported the creation of an economic development company to boost a downtown economy and its redevelopment, according to city officials.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting with a minor in English from Saint Mary’s College. Claussen has also completed a certificate program at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government dubbed senior executives in state and local government leadership.
“He came with a wealth of experience and we look forward to him and his team continuing to build on the legacy left by his predecessors”, Livermore City Manager Marianna Burch said during the Sept. 14 council meeting.
As for his most recent predecessor, Olson worked for four years as the Livermore administrative services director and before that was finance director for the city of Pleasanton.
Her appointment as a retired annuitant is capped at 960 hours and about $102,574. She is not entitled to benefits.
Olson will be working exclusively on a special-project to help the city develop its budget for the 2027-29 fiscal year, ease the staffing transition and train newly hired employees, according to a staff report prepared by then-acting administrative services Kristen Hilton.
“Her institutional knowledge of the City’s financial operations, budget processes, systems, and organizational practices make her uniquely qualified to perform this work”, the staff report states.
“The appointment is necessary due to the specialized nature of the work and current staff capacity and will end when identified projects are completed,” the report adds.
Given her retirement in May, the council was required to approve an exception to Government Code that requires a 180-waiting period for rehiring retirees. Governing bodies can waive the requirement in cases where an appointment is “critically needed”, according to Hilton.
The council unanimously approved the exception, absent Councilmember Ben Barrientos.
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