LOS ALAMITOS : City Manager’s New Contract Approved

City Manager Robert C. Dunek received additional benefits but not a pay raise under a new contract approved this week by the City Council.

Dunek, 42, city manager since 1989, receives more than $86,000 a year in salary as well as health, disability, retirement and other benefits granted to the city’s executive employees.

But starting immediately, Dunek also will receive a guarantee of six months’ pay in case of disability, minus whatever benefits he gets from workers’ compensation and other sources.

In addition, the city will contribute to a deferred compensation plan an amount equal to 2% of his base salary, a pay scheme comparable to the 401(k) in private companies.

“This formalizes my employment agreement with the city,” said Dunek, who has worked for five years under a council resolution. “This provides for a more stable and predictable working relationship.”

Dunek said that his contract does not have an expiration date, but the council can fire him at any time. The council reviews his performance every year.

Under his contract, Dunek must notify the city three months in advance if he plans to resign and work for a private company. If he wants to work for another public agency, he must give a two-month notice, unless the city agrees to a shorter notice.

The city provides a car for Dunek and use of a cellular telephone, although he has to pay for personal calls.

Before he became Los Alamitos city manager, Dunek was executive director of the Orange County division of the League of California Cities. He was an assistant city manager in Garden Grove and started his public service career as police officer in Buena Park in the 1970s.