Laguna extends city manager’s contract and gives him a bonus
The Laguna Beach City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved extending City Manager John Pietig’s contract and awarded him a one-time exceptional performance bonus of 5% of his annual salary.
Pietig’s contract ends June 30, 2018, so the new agreement will run through June 30, 2020. His contract will be automatically extended another year, through June 30, 2021, unless the council decides otherwise by July 1, 2018, according to a city staff report.
Pietig, as all other city employees in management positions, will receive a 3% raise on July 1, 2017, and another 3% on July 1, 2018. His current salary is $251,809 per year.
As part of a yearly evaluation of Pietig, a council subcommittee of Bob Whalen and Kelly Boyd reviewed contract lengths of other city managers countywide.
Of the 23 cities that responded to a survey, 11 had agreements with their city managers that automatically renewed, or had no end date. Other cities had agreements of three to five years.
“This is not a rubber stamp kind of a thing,” said Councilman Steve Dicterow, who commended Pietig’s leadership on finances and hiring. “As other cities around the state and country are filing bankruptcy, or their pension plans are going under, we are in the best shape we’ve ever been in.
“He combines two things … he sees the big picture, he has a vision going forward, but he also knows the details.”
In 2010 the council appointed Pietig, Laguna’s assistant city manager at the time, to take over for Ken Frank, who retired.
Twitter: @AldertonBryce
