Mailbag: Addressing city house assistance, pay and benefits

In response to the rising cost of housing, the city of Laguna Beach initiated a housing assistance program in 2000 to encourage some essential employees to live in town to facilitate timely responses to emergencies.

The employees in the program have key roles in responding to and managing operations and personnel during fires, floods, landslides, earthquakes, and other emergency events. There are presently five people in the program: fire division chief, fire chief, city manager, former waste-water supervisor and assistant city manager. Two of the participants are in the process of selling their homes.

The housing assistance program involves the city and an employee jointly investing in a home in town and sharing proportionally in the payment of taxes, insurance and fees. The city and the employee maintain equity positions in the home and participate in any changes in value, to the extent that an employee is provided a loan from the city. The interest rate is variable and set to exceed the return the city receives on its investments.

Since the inception of the program, three homes have been sold or are in the process of being sold. All three of the homes appreciated in value; and when the cost of taxes, insurance and fees are deducted, the net cost to the community for an essential employee to live in town averages about $2,500 per year.

I was the second participant in the program in 2001 when I was hired as the assistant city manager. Because of this program, I was able to promptly respond to the 2005 landslide, numerous flooding events, several major sewage spills, and at least four fires since 2007.

The latest participant in the program is the assistant city manager/director of public works, who is responsible for overseeing city buildings and their emergency backup generators, engineering, construction, storm drains, streets, parks, transit, parking and waste management services. This position will also have responsibility for management of emergencies when the city manager is out of town.

On another matter, a recent guest column in the Coastline Pilot also incorrectly implies that employees are working less due to a new schedule at City Hall. Employees still work 80 hours every two weeks through a modified schedule that is similar to schedules available to employees in 30 of the 34 cities in Orange County. The new schedule provides expanded City Hall hours on Mondays through Thursdays (7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.) and has City Hall open for eight hours every other Friday and closed on the alternate Friday.

Questions were also raised in the guest column about employee pay and benefits. Laguna Beach provides pay and benefits that are competitive with other cities in the marketplace in order to recruit and retain qualified employees.

Additionally, city employees appreciate the value of their retirement program; and over the last three years have started contributing between 8% and 12% of their salary to mitigate the cost of their retirement benefit. Reduced retirement programs have also been instituted by the state for new public employees which will further reduce retirement costs in the future.

I appreciate the opportunity to provide additional information.

John Pietig
City Manager

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This park needs more

I loved sitting in one of the seven-plus public benches under or near the old pepper tree on Ocean Avenue, across from the bus station, open air cafe and plaza.

It was a cool spot to enjoy the last part of a coffee, bagel or muffin from one of the nearby cafes and watch the world go by.

This mini-park, dedicated to the original Laguna Playhouse, California’s oldest, was one of the only places to sit down and enjoy downtown, talk to old friends and relax in the shade of the tree.

I guess part of Mayor Steve Dicterow’s legacy will be the removal of the benches from this oasis.

Roger Carter
Laguna Beach