Council Is Mum on City Manager Firing--but May Talk Tonight

With little notice and no public explanation, the City Council has abruptly fired City Manager David A. Berger.

Berger, 46, a former city manager of Hesperia in San Bernardino County, was hired in Buena Park last October after a six-month search.

He was fired last week, after the council held a special closed meeting and voted unanimously to terminate his contract “without cause.”

Council members said Monday that they could not discuss the matter because of defamation and other laws governing the treatment of personnel.

“There are a lot of laws that don’t allow us to talk about this stuff,” Councilman Steve Berry said. “Laws that don’t even allow us to talk among ourselves. . . . There’s not that much that can be said.”

Berry said Berger’s time for review had come up, and the council agreed to end the contract.

“I feel pretty confident in voting the way I did,” Berry added.

Mayor Gerald N. Sigler said attorneys representing the city had warned the council against speaking on the subject.

But, he said, the matter may be addressed at the council’s meeting tonight.

Larry Barstow, a resident who has attended City Council meetings for years, said he was also surprised by the action and heard about it only Sunday.

“This is just out of the blue to me,” he said.

Berger, reached at his home Monday, declined to discuss the situation. He will remain on the city payroll for 60 days.

Deputy City Manager Greg Beaubien will be acting city manager until the council hires a new one.

The meeting begins at 5 p.m. at City Hall, 6650 Beach Blvd.

Information: (714) 562-3750.