James Collins, the fleet and parking chief of Sacramento County, Calif., retired March 28 after a 32-year career.

Sacramento County will hold a competitive open examination for his position, expected to take several months.

Collins is responsible for overseeing both the fleet and parking sections of the county’s Department of General Services. Working with the light fleet manager and heavy fleet manager, he was responsible for 2,300 light cars and trucks and 1,000 heavy trucks and construction equipment as well as nine maintenance facilities and two fueling sites.

With the parking manager, he oversees two multi-story parking garages and multiple parking lots for more than 4,000 vehicles. Overall, there are 112 employees in the fleet and parking sections.

Some of Collins' career accomplishments include creating an injury and illness prevention program, upgrading underground fuel storage tanks for compliance, overseeing construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) fueling station and maintaining a fleet of 100 LNG refuse trucks, and building a 42,000-square-foot alternative fuel maintenance facility.

However, Collins considers his most significant career accomplishment to be "leading my section through the great recession faced with employee layoffs while inheriting $7.5 million in prior year's losses."

This came when he accepted the position of chief of fleet and parking. "I have recovered those losses, set performance measures for employees, right sized the staff to the number and type of vehicles in the fleet, and fostered a culture of customer care, concern, and respect in our section," he said.