Los Altos City Manager Dianne Gershuny will receive gifts and warm hugs from staffers and friends as she finishes her last day this Friday with a party held in her honor.
She, in turn, leaves the city with a farewell gift of her own: a $1.13 million surplus, for the council to spend any way they see fit.
This gift didn't fall from the sky. It resulted, in part, from Gershuny's approach to her position as the chief guardian of city funding for more than seven years. She has always taken a tight-fisted approach to city spending and would not allow any department to go over budget.
As a result, the city has been consistently fiscally sound. It ran in the black even during lean years, when the state provided little help. During this time the city never laid off any workers.
Gershuny began in Los Altos as finance director and created the first two-year budget for the city, which won a state award. Sherry Lambach, the current finance director continued the tradition and her budgets have won state and national awards ever since.
Gershuny captained a city ship that was accountable and erred on the side of conservatism - something to which most of the residents could relate in a city in which sidewalks along streets are considered an extravagance.
She also made wise decisions with regard to her hires. Sherry Lambach has proven a capable and effective finance director, and Lucy Carlton, a solid police chief.
Some say Gershuny's decision to tie up high-profile property at First and Main streets in a five-year lease for a consignment center was poor judgment, considering a hotel developer is proposing much greater profits for the city at that same site. However, no such hotel plan existed when Gershuny agreed to the lease, and the lease income was a sure thing.
The city's solid budget practices were a main reason, for instance, that it was able to negotiate for and purchase valuable land for the benefit of the citizens. In 1995 she oversaw the purchase of the corner of First and Main streets for city use.
In 1996 she guided the council through the purchase of the 5.5-acre former St. William School now known as 401 Rosita, for city recreation use.
In an age in which fiscal and ethical responsibility among city officials and politicians come frequently into question, no such questions ever surrounded Dianne Gershuny.
We wish Gershuny the best in her next endeavors.