Shuttered since early 2020, Bank of America is permanently closing the Orinda branch and ATM March 22.
Bank of America Officially Closes Orinda Branch Permanently March 22
Citing “a significant change in how clients manage their financial lives,” Bank of America officially will close the Orinda financial center and discontinue local ATM service next month. The Orinda branch was shuttered on a temporary basis in early 2020.
Customers were notified last November about the impending March 22 closure, according to Betty Riess, spokesperson for the bank. While the decision to close a branch permanently is never easy, she said, clients are “using digital and self-service platforms more and more for the most common transactions, while preferring to visit bank branches only for more complex financial needs.”
Orinda residents will now need to leave town in order to “have access to our full-service financial center in Lafayette, which is about four miles away,” said Riess.
Bank of America, which owns the land and building at 31 Orinda Way, has not disclosed plans for the site’s future.
David Biggs, city manager since April 5, 2021, received a 3% salary increase from Orinda City Council last month.
City Manager Receives Salary Increase from Orinda City Council
At its Jan. 11 meeting, the Orinda City Council unanimously adopted Resolution 02-22 to increase City Manager David Biggs’ salary, retroactive to the first of the year. The 3% increase of $7,290 brings his new annual wage-base to $250,290.
Sub-committee members Amy Worth and Dennis Fay, who were mayor and vice-mayor respectively at the time, performed the six-month salary review in October.
According to documents presented during the meeting, the 3% salary-increase “is equal to the last increase received by the Unrepresented Employees.”
“Based on our review and analysis, we are very happy with the work David has done for the City,” said Fay, who added the increase puts Biggs in the middle of wages earned by the city managers of neighboring Lafayette and Moraga.
Douglas Alessio takes the helm as the new administrative services director for the City of Orinda, replacing Paul Rankin.
Douglas Alessio is New Administrative Services Director for Orinda
The City of Orinda hired Douglas Alessio, a public service employee for the past 28 years, as administrative services director. Alessio replaces Paul Rankin who retired last year.
Alessio, age 53, recently worked with the City of Livermore, where he served for 12 years. He started as the finance manager and worked his way up to assistant city manager.
Early in his career, Alessio met Rankin, who was working for the City of Dublin at the time, while an auditor with a CPA firm.
“Paul’s organizational skills certainly made my segue to Orinda an easy transition,” said Alessio.
A resident of Concord, Alessio said he was looking for a different challenge and “Orinda was one of the few places for which I would have left.”
Kathy Enzerink can be reached at kathy@theorindanews.com.
