Laguna Beach council to consider 10% pay raise for assistant city manager

A potential 10% salary increase for the second-in-command at Laguna Beach City Hall is on the City Council’s docket Tuesday.

The proposed hike would increase the annual salary for Shohreh Dupuis, Laguna’s assistant city manager/director of public works, from $216,428 to $238,060.

Dupuis, who has worked for the city for three years, is overseeing several large-scale efforts, including the roll-out of a new parking system, the two-year Village Entrance project and regular implementation of the local capital improvement plan.

Dupuis also served on Mayor Bob Whalen’s Wildfire Mitigation and Fire Safety Subcommittee — which will present more than 40 recommendations to the City Council Tuesday — and would be responsible for much of the work proposed in that report.

The staff report regarding the proposed raise, submitted by City Manager John Pietig, notes that two other Public Works Department employees will be retiring this year and losing three top officials “could cause delays for significant projects that are already in progress.”

Dupuis, who came to the city after serving as Irvine’s deputy public works director, also is being “actively recruited” for other positions in her field, according to the report.

Last month, a split council voted to give Pietig a raise of 2.5% in each of the next two years, making his salary about $280,000 annually, according to Gavin Curran, the city’s director of administrative services.

Tuesday’s council meeting begins at 6 p.m. in City Hall, 505 Forest Ave.