Now departing: Newport’s experience

When Rich Edmonston started working for the city of Newport Beach, Jerry Brown was the governor of California.

Now on the brink of retirement, Edmonston, a transportation and development services manager, said during his 31 years with the city he considered a few jobs elsewhere but “always decided the grass wasn’t enough greener somewhere else to make a switch.”

But he’ll turn 60 on Sunday, and like scores of fellow baby boomers he’s ending his days as a working man.

Besides Edmonston’s departure at the end of the month, the city of Newport Beach is bracing for the retirement of a number of long-tenured employees, including department heads.

Fire Chief Tim Riley left in November, and upcoming retirements include City Engineer Bill Patapoff, Deputy Fire Chief Ron Sutherland, Utilities Director Pete Antista, Planning Director Patricia Temple and Police Chief Bob McDonell.

City employees can retire at 55, or take early retirement at 50 if they have at least five years of service. Now the city is being hit with what City Manager Homer Bludau called “baby boomer syndrome,” and waves of employees are retiring.

“Over the next four or five years we’ll have a lot of experience at our department head level that will be retiring,” Bludau said. “All organizations in both the public and private sectors are going to face the same thing for the same reasons.”

Consider the Fire Department, where spokeswoman Jennifer Schulz said there were no retirements between 1985 and 1995. People have started to retire, though, and Schulz estimated over the last five years or so it has pushed the average age of Fire Department employees from about 45 to 30.

To combat “baby boomer syndrome,” city officials have come up with a plan to address the loss of experienced employees and managers. Beginning in January, the city will offer a leadership academy to prepare people for management, said human resources director Barbara Ramsey.

They’ll get an overview of city operations, learn about ethics and be trained in personnel issues and management.

Officials said the loss of experienced staff will be made up with a combination of outside recruits and promotions from within. Smaller employee pools will make recruiting department heads tougher, so “I think it’s a lot easier and better on morale if we can grow our own,” Bludau said.

Bludau said it can be hard to replace the community relationships and knowledge of the city’s infrastructure longtime employees have.

But City Councilman Don Webb, who worked for the city for 33 years and retired as city engineer before running for the City Council, said he tries to see the positive side of the retirements.

“Maybe it’s an opportunity for us to get some new ideas and improve our operations through hiring people that are well qualified and can give us new experiences,” he said.

CITY STATS

Baby boomers have left a hole in all sectors of the workforce as they reach retirement age. Here are some retirement statistics from the Newport Beach’s human resources department.

Eligible age of retirement: 55, but early retirement is permitted at 50 with at least five years of service.

Total full-time city employees: 811

Retirements in 2001: 15

Retirements in 2006: 43