Redondo Beach Council Fires City Manager

In a move to change the style and chart a new course for the city’s administration, the Redondo Beach City Council unanimously voted to fire City Manager Bill Kirchhoff.

The decision to terminate the six-year manager and pay a three-year severance package worth at least $600,000 came late Tuesday during a regularly scheduled City Council meeting and followed three months of controversy over the tenured official’s fate.

The council had placed Kirchhoff, 54, on paid leave Feb. 10 to evaluate his management style after three employees he supervises were accused of spying on a police officers’ union meeting.

“Bill has done a lot of good things for this city and was instrumental in taking this city through some very tough times,” said newly sworn Mayor Greg Hill, adding that details of the buyout had not been finalized. “But based on a number of style issues and the fact that the council has lost confidence in him based on morale issues, we feel that it’s time to take the city in a new direction.”

Kirchhoff learned his fate early Wednesday when a reporter for a weekly newspaper called, beating the city to the punch. Kirchhoff said that although he wasn’t surprised by the council’s decision, he felt somewhat blindsided by the news because his career, which spans 27 years and five cities, has never before included a termination.

“Philosophically, superintendents and city managers are bound to get fired if you’re doing your job right and looking out for the people in the community,” said Kirchhoff, who later received a fax from the council.

Over the years, Kirchhoff has been praised for meeting most goals and objectives outlined by the City Council and lauded for getting the city finances, which were $3 million in the red when he took the job, back on track.

But in recent months, the municipal management expert has come under fire from employee groups, including the police and fire unions, and the City Council for what they termed a heavy-handed management style and creating a “you’re with me or against me” working climate.

Although the alleged spying on the police union was a catalyst for placing Kirchhoff--who was out of town at the time--on leave, city officials said the incident was unrelated to his termination and the city manager did not commit any wrongdoing. They contend that his administrative style has long been an issue at City Hall.

Kirchhoff noted that none of the council members had suggested that he ease up. “Never once did the council suggest that my style or method of management needed to change,” said Kirchhoff, who says that he had received excellent evaluations from the council as recent as January.

On Wednesday, some city employees were happy to hear that the council had decided to get rid of the city manager. “This is the first step in bringing the city back together from the internal problems we’ve had,” said Phil Garcia, president of the police officers association.