The City of Goleta is losing a veteran and valued staff member who has been with the City almost since it started. Vyto Adomaitis, the City’s Director of Neighborhood Services and Public Safety (NSPS), has accepted a position as the new Community Development Director for the City of Oxnard. His last official day with the City is February 19, 2021 after almost 19 years of service. He will begin his new role with the City of Oxnard on February 22, 2021.
Vyto started with the City of Goleta shortly after its incorporation in 2002. During his time, he has led an award-winning department known for its leadership and collaborative approach to addressing community needs in Goleta and the Santa Barbara County region. In 2014, Vyto’s department was the recipient of the prestigious Helen Putnam Award for Excellence in Public Service from the League of California Cities, on behalf of the City of Goleta.
Vyto Adomaitis said, “I am forever grateful to the City of Goleta for giving me the opportunity to serve this community for the last almost 19 years. It has been an absolutely wonderful experience to work with the highly dedicated and talented staff here. I am also extremely proud of the strong partnerships we have built with the Sheriff’s Office, Fire Department and District Attorney’s Office in helping to keep Goleta a safe community. Thank you to the City Council, City Manager and staff for allowing me to be a part of all of this and for your support of me and my excellent staff in the Neighborhood Services and Public Safety Department.”
City of Goleta’s City Manager Michelle Greene said, “Vyto helped shape our young organization as we developed over the years. His dedication, high standards for excellence, can-do attitude and unique problem-solving skills have been an asset to the City team and will take him far in his new venture. It has been a pleasure to work alongside him. He will be deeply missed.”
Mayor Paula Perotte said, “Vyto has been here from the beginning and I think that everyone would agree that Vyto and our city grew together. I know although we grew together, we will not grow apart. We look forward to hearing about all his successes in his new position and hope that every now and then we can tap his memory and institutional knowledge of Goleta and our formative years. We send him off with our best wishes on his new adventure.”
Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said, “Vyto Adomaitis has done an outstanding job representing the City of Goleta’s interest in obtaining professional, robust, effective and accountable contract law enforcement services from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. During frequent interactions with our agency he epitomized good will, cooperation and credibility. As a result of his efforts, the support of the City Council, and our agency’s strong partnership with the community, Goleta has consistently received outstanding police services that have helped make it one of the safest 100 cities in America. We will miss Vyto, but we wish him well and know he will do an equally superb job for the City of Oxnard.
Joyce E. Dudley, Santa Barbara County’s District Attorney said “It has been my absolute honor and pleasure to work with Vyto. He is smart, compassionate, energetic and supportive. I will miss Vyto’s wisdom and his warmth.”
Santa Barbara County Fire Chief Mark Hartwig said, “Vyto has been an advocate for the people of Goleta through a strong partnership with County Fire and tireless work on the future Station 10 in western Goleta.”
Vyto’s nearly 34 years of government and private-sector experience includes Community Development, Redevelopment, Planning, Downtown Revitalization, Economic Development, Community Development Block Grants, Housing, Capital Projects, Building & Safety, Code Compliance, Public Safety Administration, Emergency Operations, grants writing, homelessness issues, process improvements, customer service and conducting significant community outreach efforts.
Vyto’s professional highlights include serving as the current Chairman of the Executive Board for the Goleta Entrepreneurial Magnet, a partnership between the City of Goleta and the University of California Santa Barbara that seeks to promote economic development activities in the Goleta area. He also led the project team for Goleta’s Fire Station 10 Project, a City Council priority, obtaining unanimous California Coastal Commission approval last September, which will facilitate the future development of this long-awaited public safety facility for the City’s residents. Lastly, he led the project team on the very successful and popular Jonny D. Wallis Neighborhood Park project.
The City will be presenting Vyto with a City Tile at our upcoming City Council meeting tonight, Tuesday, February 2, 2021 at 5:30 p.m. If you would like to thank Vyto and wish him well, you are invited to participate in the public comment period of his send off. To participate, click here to join the City Council meeting electronically at and use the webinar ID 966-926-155. You can also submit your comment in advance by sending to cityclerkgroup@cityofgoleta.org.
To us, Vyto will always be #GoodLandGoodPeople.
Vyto Adomaitis and City Manager Michelle Greene
Vyto at the Jonny D. Wallis Neighborhood Park Grand Opening in March 2019 (pictured left to right: JoAnne Plummer, Parks and Recreation Manager, Jaime Valdez, Senior Project Manager, Mayor Paula Perotte, Vyto Adomaitis, Neighborhood Services and Public Safety Director, and Claudia Dato, Senior Project Manager)
Vyto Adomaitis and Mayor Paula Perotte at Goleta Chamber of Commerce event
Vyto at the 2019 State of the City with Sheriff’s Commander Kevin Huddle, Undersheriff Sol Linver, City of Goleta Neighborhood Services and Public Safety Director Vyto Adomaitis, Sheriff Bill Brown, Lt. Brian Thielst and Sgt. John Maxwell.