Fresno City Attorney Douglas Sloan is leaving, the president of the city council said Friday.

Sloan, the top legal advisor for the city since March 2013 and a city employee for 16 years, is leaving for a new post in southern California.

Neither the city nor Sloan has said where his next destination will be.

“City Attorney Sloan has served this city through three mayoral administrations and 14 different councilmembers,” said City Council President Nelson Esparza in a news release. “We are grateful for his work and wish him and his family much success in (his) new role.”

Councilmember Tyler Maxwell said that Sloan “has been a driving force” and “many major quality of life improvements for Fresnans can be traced directly back to him.”

Council Hires, Fires City Attorney

Sloan’s contract pays him a base salary of $227,000.

The city council has oversight of the city attorney, who can be hired or fired with a majority vote.

In addition to the usual legal duties provided by the city attorney, the office also oversees the code enforcement department.

From Midwest to Fresno

Following graduation from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law in 1987, Sloan worked in private practice in the Midwest and Fresno. In 2006, he joined the city attorney’s office.

Sloan will leave at the end of May. The city council plans to declare May 26 as “Douglas Sloan Day.”