Jeffery Hart, fleet manager for the City of Oceanside, Calif., has announced that he will be retiring in July after 38 years in fleet maintenance and management. His last day is July 17.

Hart began his career as a mechanic for the Marine Corps in 1982. He joined the City of Oceanside as a technician in 1990 and was promoted to the role of fleet manager in 2009.

At Oceanside, Hart oversees all aspects of the fleet department, ranging from procurement to disposal of vehicles to environmental and regulatory responsibilities. He oversees a fleet of about 550 vehicles and equipment and a staff of 13 employees.

One of his biggest accomplishments was turning around organizational morale that had crippled staff confidence and productivity. Once that was done, productivity increased, excessive time off decreased, and the only employee turnover was due to retirements, he said. Other accomplishments include implementing creative budget-saving processes, such as reverse auctions, that saved the city hundreds of thousands of dollars as well as using auction revenue from old vehicles and antiquated equipment to purchase new shop tools at no cost to customer departments.

The city is currently recruiting for Hart’s replacement. The recruitment will close on May 29.