Hermosa Beach Treasurer Abruptly Quits : City Hall: Gary L. Brutsch says he wants to spend more time with his daughter, but some wonder whether department cutbacks were the last straw.

Hermosa Beach City Treasurer Gary L. Brutsch abruptly resigned Wednesday, saying he wanted to devote more time to his 13-year-old daughter.

Brutsch’s resignation came several hours after the City Council, making up a budget shortfall, voted to reduce Deputy City Treasurer Dianne Fairchild’s time spent on treasurer duties and asked that Brutsch cut his own pay.

There was much speculation over the cause of Brutsch’s resignation, including the possibility it was linked to the budget cuts. But Brutsch said he was simply tired of 10 years of public office and worried that unspecified political dirty tricks would smear his family.

“It had to do with something that occurred yesterday afternoon that made me sick,” Brutsch said, declining to elaborate. “Now it is time for me to move and be the best father to my daughter. . . . This is really nobody’s business, but when folks use your office as a conduit to your personal life and family, it’s time to move on.”

Brutsch’s resignation surprised several city officials, who said they were unaware that Brutsch was unhappy.

“I feel he has done a tremendous job in this city, and the people here are devastated,” Fairchild said.

“I was shocked,” City Manager Frederick R. Ferrin said, echoing others in City Hall.

The council will schedule an emergency meeting to appoint someone to serve as interim treasurer, a part-time position paying $15,600 a year, until the November elections, Ferrin said. Brutsch’s four-year term expires in 1995. A City Councilman from 1982 to 1986 and mayor in 1984, Brutsch, 50, was first elected treasurer in 1987.

The treasurer’s primary task is to oversee the city’s $13.5-million investment portfolio and prepare monthly reports on receipts, disbursements and fund balances.

“Well, I’m sorry he resigned,” Hermosa Beach Mayor Albert Wiemans said. “I only hope it had nothing to do with the cuts we made to the budget.”

The City Council, seeking to trim $168,000, agreed Tuesday to abolish five positions, four of them through layoffs. But the council also has asked the city staff to look for other ways to save money, including a request for the city clerk and treasurer to voluntarily cut their pay by 10%.

The city staff was expected to report back to the council by March 23 on any alternative cuts.

The council also mandated that the deputy treasurer split her time between the treasurer’s office and finance department to make up for the loss of an accounting clerk.

Wiemans, who supported the cuts, said they were necessary to balance the budget. “It was the least objectionable alternative,” he said. “I’m not happy with the motion, but these are tough times.”

Fairchild said the request that Brutsch reduce his pay and the scaling back of her treasury duties showed a lack of respect that she believes contributed to the treasurer’s resignation.

“How can you work in a place that’s not respectful?” she said. “I think it’s a real shame.”

Brutsch, a partner in a manufacturing firm, said he looks forward to time with his family.

“Hermosa Beach is a dynamic place, and I’ve had my ups and downs but I have really enjoyed politics,” he said.