Armine Chaparyan

Arminé Chaparyan, the city of Santa Clarita’s redevelopment manager, has been selected to fill in as interim city clerk for the next six to 12 months, city officials said Monday.

Chaparyan is filling the position vacated by Sarah Gorman, who left this month after holding the job for the past two years. Gorman left her $116,000-a-year city clerk post in Santa Clarita to take the same position in Santa Monica at a base salary of $160,000.

Chaparyan came to Santa Clarita from the city of Ontario in 2008 to run the Santa Clarita Redevelopment Agency. But when the state of California eliminated redevelopment agencies earlier this year, the job for which Chaparyan was hired evaporated.

Nonetheless, she’ll retain the title of redevelopment manager, officials said. Chaparyan has been helping with the transition of Santa Clarita’s redevelopment agency to the “successor agency” which, under the new state law, is responsible for paying off the agency’s long-term debt. She’s also been helping to keep the revitalization efforts going in Old Town Newhall as a member of the city’s economic development team.

“I appreciate Arminé’s willingness to assume the important responsibilities of the City Clerk’s office as well as the support of the staff in that division,” City Manager Ken Pulskamp said.

Armine Chaparyan

As interim city clerk, Chaparyan will take responsibility for keeping track of the city’s public records, fielding records requests, processing officials forms and running the city’s elections – if she’s still filling the position when the next city election rolls around in April of 2014.

“The interim assignment is six to 12 months,” city spokeswoman Gail Ortiz said. “After that time, it will be evaluated.”

Ortiz said the city has a long history of “providing interim assignments, job rotations and new assignments.” She said the rotations give employees a chance to “learn more about other areas of the city, increase their technical knowledge and organizational awareness, and build relationships with a broader group of coworkers.”

The city benefits “by having employees with an increased depth and breadth of knowledge of the city,” Ortiz said.

Chaparyan graduated from UCLA in 2000 with a degree in political science and earned a master’s in public administration from USC.