Mike Macy (former Fire Chief) There is no formal definition of the program, nor which positions are essential, meaning it is up for grabs. Although both City Managers and CEOs require substantial leadership and organisational skills, a CEO of a publicly traded company deals with many issues and pressures that a City Manager simply does not. (714) 966-4611. Which benefits does City of Laguna Beach, CA provide? What a cowardly move. As for the second complaint, that Mr. Dicterow had failed to disclose income received from a business with current, past, or future operations in Laguna Beach, they failed to find evidence of such operation, and hence he neednt disclose such income. The automatic extension will happen unless the City Council intervenes to stop the automatic extension. This lobbying effort didnt deter the City Council from adopting the defensible space guidelines. If Mr. Kohn claimed threat of litigation was purpose for closed meeting knowing that was not stated in the closed meeting agenda notice, wouldnt this fit the dictionary definition of lying to the Council and the public? This author presented 2016 remuneration data for Laguna Beach employees (sourced from www.transparentcalifornia.com) during the City Council meeting of July 11 2017, as part of his argument against continuing the EEHAP. Mayor Pro Tem Bob Whalen said Brown was important in helping implement the 2019 Wildfire Safety and Mitigation plan spearheaded by a council subcommittee he served on with Mayor Sue Kempf. Current Councilmembers average 10+ years of service. the City of Laguna Beach has invested large sums of money to make the City a tourist destination . As the council moves forward in appointing a new city manager this Mr. Monda brought up a concern that had been circulating among residents since it had become known that the City had an Essential Employee Housing Assistance Program (EEHAP) and that the program had no official guidelines. The then prevailing 30 year-fixed home loan interest-rate was approximately 7.0%. Government | Laguna Beach, CA City Of Laguna Beach Average Salaries | Salary.com Products Software Streamlined solutions. Before joining the Pilot in October 2016, he covered prep sports as a freelancer for the Orange County Register for four years. City of Laguna Beach Number of Employees, Statistics, Diversity Laguna has a great climate, attractive compensation and beneCits like Fridays off. I was not permanently removed Political predators like you turned what began as engaging political discourse into mindless attacks. City Manager $249,912.83, Fire Chief $236,056.98, Battalion Chief $222,996.72. He said the loss forced him to reevaluate his life-work balance. I was shocked by the aggressive tone and rude behavior from our top city employee. LAGUNA BEACH, CA As the City of Laguna Beach undertakes its search for a new City Manager, the City Council wants to ensure the public has an opportunity to provide feedback about the most important qualities potential candidates should possess. The council unanimously approved a side letter agreement that grants double-time pay to employees who work overtime for the next two months. The City Manager reports to us and should be sharing why this is happening and what we can do to mitigate it, Councilmember George Weiss said. As is mentioned above, Fire Chief LaTendresse exited the program in July of 2016, and the City was the beneficiary of 50% of the proceeds of the sale of his property. What can be confirmed at this time is that in response to a request by Weiss to investigate the Boards conduct on June 29, the Orange County District Attorney has determined that from June 29 to the present, including on Aug, 10 when the Council censured Weiss, there has been more serious and actionable evidence the Council majority violated the Brown Act than there is that Weiss did so. 45% of City of Laguna Beach employees are male and 55% of City of Laguna Beach employees are female. Therefore to look at CEOs compensation as a relevant measuring stick to that of a City Manager is not reasonable. Does this distribution look fair and equitable for all Laguna Beach neighborhoods? However as most Lagunans recognize, the different neighborhoods that comprise Laguna Beach are very different and experience very different issues and challenges. His point, which is valid to a limited degree, is that he took the deal while he was still Assistant City Manager/Sewer System Manager and earning a lot less than the 2016 indicated amount. I worked in city government and understand the challenges on both sides. Two sworn complaints have been filed with the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) against Mayor Steve Dicterow for failure to properly disclose reportable economic interests. Finally, Im not sure why you feel the need to be so sarcastic towards other locals who voice their personal opinions to make your points. Combined, Ken Frank and John Pietig will have served Laguna for 51 years. LB is 48th out of 567 cities in California, in terms of the total remuneration given to the City Manager. The accompanying document shows the agreement that the City made with the then Senior Sewer Services Supervisor, who had at that point (2008) worked for the City for 35 years. That very well may be. The most common highest degree level of City of Laguna Beach employees is bachelors, with 42% of employees having at least a bachelors. Tom Christopher (Fire Division Chief) 2006 Take for example, the current concession of a 5% exceptional performance bonus which was sought and granted. In fact Bates LinkedIn page states among her achievements that: During a period of significant staffing changes within this city government agency, Ive implemented changes to establish stability and increase morale among 270 FTEs and 300 seasonal/part-time personnel across nine departments.. Fact is, high employee turnovers and rumors of low morale and a lack of satisfaction with City management in City departments and primarily the public safety depts. Its simply largess that no city can afford. We really want no part of the confusion, and I fail to understand to understand what the constant attacks resolve?? Dear Mayor Whalen and City Council Members: Happy New Year. Assuming a 10% downpayment, the Pietigs would have had monthly P&I payments of $4,138 and total monthly payments (inclusive of property taxes & insurance) of $4,925. As always, we strive to improve in all facets of City government. https://www.cityofpensacola.com/CivicSend/ViewMessage/Message/122077. Letter: Is Our City Tuned into its Employees? - Laguna Beach Local News The City Council chooses the city manager. * Battalion Chief (2) Measure S in Laguna Beach considers city law for $18 an hour pay for Re: Facts vs opinion. Attempting to put the blame for their actions and outcome on others is absurd. and expect. When he finished I thanked him for listening to residents concerns and selecting a search firm for the city manager job. The announced retirements of three senior public safety employees in the last month have raised questions among some community members about what else Laguna Beach can do to retain senior staff. That would be in employee and taxpayers best interests. Using this data, we can take action and create a better work environment for staff based on the information received.. An open recruitment process will boost confidence and trust in our local government. In general, the program reimburses four employees up to $987 a month for locating in the City and being on-call.. LagunaBeachCHAT is satisfied with the decision. Vote them out. Senior staffers had also tasked Brown with speeding up building plan review turnaround, consistent interpretations of city building law, and timely responses to the publics questions. At least thats what I hear from staff who I talk to. What do you know about her accomplishments? In fact,I would like to suggest that the council ask for some public input on the important attributes of a new city manager to use in their decision making and conduct an outsourcedconfidential city employee satisfaction survey to identify internal cultural issuesthat might exist that could provide valuable insight to the incoming administrator. Its well worth a read. year, I ask that a professional recruitment firm be hired to conduct an open and extensive Current Employees | Laguna Beach, CA Rest assured that if we come into additional information with regards to ACOs operations, or indeed discover any other unreported material economic interest of any of our City council members, we will investigate, and where warranted, file future sworn complaints with the FPPC. Shohreh Dupuis knows shell encounter the unique challenges of a popular beach town. Reply. Deborah Laughton AKA Deborah Weiss, wife of city council member George Weiss. For example, those folks living in the Canyon area have different concerns from those living in Emerald Bay or Arch Beach. It is worthwhile noting however, under the programs if the participant retires and has been in the program for X years, they have X years after retirement to complete the sale. Employee Assistance Program . This despite the fact that sewer division employees were already eligible for a monthly housing subsidy from the City at at then-$800 per month. Laguna Beach announces new safety measures amid COVID-19 concerns One of the primary focuses of my tenure in the Fire Department has beento makesignificant improvement in is wildland fire prevention, Brown said in a prepared statement. At about 11pm at the end of the March 28 City Council meeting, the council addressed the last item on the agenda: the annual review of City Manager Pietigs employment contract. Click here to see 2015 compensation amounts for Laguna Beachs city & safety employees. The remaining 3 City employees will continue to enjoy the benefits of joint-ownership but we encourage them to buy their way out as soon as possible. Andrew Turner is a sports reporter for the Daily Pilot. The different issues and priorities of residents in these different neighborhoods most likely cannot be fully appreciated by someone who doesnt live in the neighborhoods. That sounds good, but the reader needs to bear in mind that Mr. Pietig has already been granted annual salary increase guarantees in previous years contract concessions. A commercial 30yr fixed mortgage for such a property would cost borrowers about $6,900 per month at current interest rates. Laguna Beach boosts overtime pay, offers hiring incentives to deal with Note: No response to this request received from Mayor Bob Whalen. The City should be able to attract the highest qualified candidates. The Council chose to completely ignore the input and requests to conduct an outside employee survey before filling the position. We reproduce the graphic here: (These data are from 2016 and so the current amounts should all be increased by about 3% according to the most recent terms of the Employee Union contract). MJ, you are the one in all likelihood reporting Mr. Kling. There have been many challenges, and it has been very rewarding to face each as part of the Fire Department team, and find solutions that benefit the City and residents.. Part of adult behavior includes learning how to curb what you feel in speech so as to communicate and work together. Tree advocates also voiced concerns that removing mature trees would undermine the historic urban forest, warm-up public streets, and stymie efforts to mitigate climate change. City Of Laguna Beach pays an average salary of $65,184 and salaries range from a low of $57,265 to a high of $74,504. Thank you. Pietig: $359k Fiscal prudence might have dictated that the Pietigs wait a few years for the city salary to increase and their savings to do likewise and the purchase could have no doubt been made comfortably. I did not support the Museum Hotel as proposed. Establish stability and increase morale? However, Id like to make a couple of points on that line of reasoning as the basis for handing out endless numbers of annual pay increases and exceptional performance bonuses: What can we, the tax paying residents of Laguna Beach do check the apparent largess that the City Council seems determined to visit upon the City Manager annually? Why not try to unite and make this town efficient again?? Documents: FPPC Case No. Laguna Beach Gears Up For City Hall Reopening - Patch Please educate us on your valued sources, or better yet, professional experience with her. to continue to provide the service the people of Laguna Beach deserve He graduated with bachelors degrees in journalism and history. I remain committed to helping provide accurate and timely information, being City of Laguna Beach employee benefits and perks data. In defense to the city employees, residents like Michele Monda and MJ Abraham, who tag team articles and attacks, make life a nightmare for this town and for those elected. In fact, I have been concerned about the rumors of internal discord for quite some time and have tried to get this council to conduct an employee survey to help identify and resolve any dissatisfaction that may exist. the opportunity to find a city manager with the type of leadership, interpersonal skills Its pretty clear things are getting more severe. Half of the programs participants have been with the Fire department and most would agree that having managers of this department living in the City would be adventageous. * Senior Sewer Services Supervisor. Its no secret that most government employees go to other jobs to raise their salaries and they tend to retire in their 50s when theyve reached full pension eligability. For the record, I have great respect for our city employees and the job that they do. The pool of qualified officers has decreased due to the mass resignations and retirements from the anti-police and Defund the Police movements, changes in legislation that have placed more pressure and scrutiny on officers, and the unprecedented increase in inflation. City of Laguna Beach may also be known as or be related to City Of Laguna Beach, City of Laguna Beach, City of Laguna Beach (California) and Laguna Beach City Hall. Our estimates are verified against BLS, Census, and current job openings data for accuracy. Free speech does not cover saying whatever emotional blip Im experiencing to be aimed at my staff, clients or buyers in my corporate work. Those in red, during the 1/12/16 City Council meeting, and so on. He voiced the concerns that many residents had that the City was offering to enter into 50/50 ownership arrangements with certain senior staff members under the idea that certain essential employees needed to live in Laguna Beach so as to be most effective in their jobs. Why? When did saying what you feel become appropriate behavior in business, nonprofits, or among City managers, staff and Council Members? In addition to the officers out with long-term injury, the department has dealt with its own set of retirements and departures. Thank you for speaking up. 54% of City of Laguna Beach employees are white. The average City of Laguna Beach, CA hourly pay ranges from approximately $18 per hour for an undefined to $18 per hour for an undefined. Laguna Beach Resident and Proud Community Activist Only 7% of City of Laguna Beach employees earn a salary of $60k-100k a year. On her income alone (ignoring that of her spouse), it seems that the Assistant City Manager could afford the house they purchased without any assistance from the City. More recently, Capt. team as a member of the police department. Using a database of 30 million profiles, Zippia estimates demographics and statistics for City of Laguna Beach. Laguna Beach city employees return to work next week. Highly-paid expert staff like Garcia and Brown only lasted 4-5 years here. You have been kicked off more than once as well. It also seems clear that false narrative of that background document was known by the City Attorney and City Manager to be untrue. Laguna Beach City Council under pressure to open recruitment for next city manager LB Indy, Laguna Beach City Manager John Pietig Announces Retirement LB Indy, Letters To The Editor: City Manager Recruitment Stu News, Find more letters in Stu News Archives here, Letter: Why Are City Employees Leaving Laguna Beach? Sadly, this stain is forever part of our City, its leadership history and your Mayoral legacy. 5. Please feel free to contact us. In addition, we had the still mysterious and abrupt resignation of our well-respected Police Chief Thompson after only 5 months on the job citing management style differences. Thanks for your sharing your perspective. City managers are quick to play one locale off against another and exploit the relative lack of sophistication of the City Councils that set their pay. and execute ideas with the support of council members and the public. Created By Granicus - Connecting People and Government. Orange County reported 872 new. City of Laguna Beach Statistics And Demographics, Laguna College of Art and Design Demographics, Festival of Arts Pageant of the Masters Reviews. The image above shows the terms-in-office of the current councilmembers (in red). He & his wife wanted to stop renting & purchase a property to start building equity. The taxpayers money can be put to better use. Courtesy of the Laguna Beach Independent Newspaper. Dupuis: $330k (est) We take comfort in that the motion that the Council passed explicitly opted for Staff Report Option #4: Discontinuing the program, and expect that if a future Council wanted to offer essential housing assistance in the future, the proposal would have to be agendized, discussed and voted upon before the public. Initial FPPC Confirmation Letter, Second FPPC Compliant and Investigation Acknowledgement Letter of November 29, 2016** 3. On average, employees at City of Laguna Beach stay with the company for 4.1 years. But he might have or might in the future and citizens of Laguna Beach deserve to know about his economic interests in this property. We provide the reader with the FPPC Warning Letter here. It is far less clear how having employees in these roles living in the City adds to residents safety or better execution of City operations. Simply not true. During the Council meeting on March 28, 2017 at 11pm, several council members took pains to extol on the many virtues of Mr. Pietig. Hopefully, this will accomplished in November. It may not be complete. LagunaBeachCHAT strongly advocates for councilmembers to relinquish their seats after no more than 2 terms. Another full-time park ranger is scheduled to begin working at the end of the month. After receiving public input regarding the qualities desired for this critical position and considering new management, they agreed to hold an open executive search. https://lagunabeachcity.zoom.us/j/95174625549, Dial (US): +1 669 900 9128 The City of Laguna Beach agreed to these measures. LB City Council meeting related agendas/videos: JUNE 29, 2021 Closed Session: Laguna Hotel discussion/action occurred proposed as violating Brown Act. Officers per 1,000 residents here: 2.29: California average: Pietig was appointed. MJ, whats really absurd is your inability to tell the truth. During public communications anyone can speak on a topic of their choice for 3 minutes. With LaTendresses exit, only 3 employees remain in the program: Christopher, Pietig and most recently, Dupuis. Benefits. City of Laguna Beach, CA employees rate the overall compensation and benefits package 4.0/5 stars. Experienced at working with regional transportation agencies, her first task will be the utility undergrounding project in Laguna Canyon and the growing traffic congestion on the citys small streets, she said.