COLTON COURIER Weekly
August 13, 2026
Vol 154, NO. 39
Colton City Manager Bill Smith to Retire After 11 Years Leading City By Manny Sandoval
C
olton City Manager Bill Smith will retire in November after more than 11 years leading the city and 45 years in municipal government, ending the longest city manager tenure in Colton’s modern history.
IECN.com
Smith has spent the past 25 years working for the City of Colton and previously served in municipal government roles with the cities of San Bernardino and Ontario. His retirement will bring a leadership transition to one of Colton’s most influential administrative positions. Colton operates under a council-manager form of government, in which the City Council appoints a professional city manager to carry out its policies, priorities and goals.
Priority Ambulance Names Leadership Team Ahead of Oct. 1 CONFIRE EMS Launch in San Bernardino County Pg. 4
PHOTO CITY OF COLTON Colton City Manager Bill Smith will retire in November after 45 years in municipal government, including 25 years with the City of Colton and more than 11 years as city manager.
As city manager, Smith serves as the city’s chief executive and oversees its day-today operations. The position is also responsible for developing and recommending programs related to the city’s economic
and financial health, coordinating preparation of the annual budget and City Council agenda, and overseeing long-term capital improvement and financing plans. The city manager also works across departments to implement policies adopted by the council and serves as a legislative advocate on issues affecting Colton. Smith has held the city manager position for more than 11 years, making him the longesttenured person to serve in the role in Colton’s modern history, according to the city. Officials credited his institutional knowledge and leadership with helping guide the city through challenges and periods of development during his tenure. His 25 years with Colton have also coincided with the city’s continued focus on economic development, housing, infrastructure, public safety and attracting new business and employment opportunities. City Manager, cont. next pg.
Kresge CEO Urges San Bernardino to Rethink Infrastructure, Development Priorities Riverside Housing Advocates Renew University Terrace Push Amid State Civil Rights Investigation Pg. 4
Fontana Unified Opens Oak Grove Preparatory Academy With Expanded Career, College Pathways Pg. 8 Inland Empire Community Newspapers Office: (909) 381-9898 Editorial: iecn1@mac.com Advertising: iecn1@mac.com Legals : iecnlegals@gmail.com
By Manny Sandoval
T
he head of a national foundation offered a candid assessment of San Bernardino on Thursday, urging local leaders to look beyond individual projects and invest in infrastructure, public spaces and stronger neighborhood connections. Rip Rapson, president and CEO of The Kresge Foundation, made the remarks at the Inland Empire Community Foundation’s 2026 Policy & Philanthropy Summit: All Together during a conversation with IECF President and CEO Michelle Decker about lessons learned from American cities. In a follow-up interview with Inland Empire Community News, Rapson said communities must distinguish between major regional systems and the smaller-scale infrastructure that shapes residents’ daily lives. “There's a kind of big infrastructure and there’s community infrastructure,” Rapson said. He credited the Inland
Empire with regional infrastructure, including transit and water and fire management systems, but said the more difficult challenge is building neighborhood-level connections. “What are the ways of reducing heat? What are the ways of managing water? What are the ways of creating connectivity between communities?” he said. Rapson said San Bernardino’s long, wide corridors make that work particularly difficult. He also pointed to the roughly 50-acre former mall site downtown as an opportunity to create a development that connects with the surrounding city instead of operating as an isolated project. “You can just plop something down,” Rapson said. “But wouldn’t it be tremendous if you all could figure out a way to make that genuinely connect into the rest of the community and make it a public asset, not just private housing and a taco chain?” His comments came one day Summit, cont. next pg.
PHOTO MANNY SANDOVAL Residents and community leaders rally Aug. 2 against the cityapproved relocation of a cannabis store to San Bernardino’s Sixth Ward, with attendees including former Assemblymember Cheryl