Council Dismisses City Administrator
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Hawaiian Gardens began looking for a new city administrator Thursday after the City Council asked Leonard Chaidez to vacate the position.
The council voted 3 to 2 in a special closed-door meeting Wednesday to ask Chaidez to resign or be fired. Council members appointed former city administrator Jack Simpson to the job until they find a permanent replacement.
Chaidez, who became city administrator in January 1996, will receive about $90,000 in a severance package including back pay, city officials said. Chaidez could not be reached for comment.
City officials would not comment on the reason for Chaidez’s dismissal, citing confidential personnel issues.
However, some officials have said he was unable to balance the city’s finances, which have teetered near bankruptcy for more than a year.
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