The City of Los Alamitos is under the gun to find a new city attorney and a new city manager in the next two months, so the plan is to hire someone to fill the positions on an interim basis while a more thorough search can be done for permanent replacements.
The City of Los Alamitos is under the gun to find a new city attorney and a new city manager in the next two months, so the plan is to hire someone to fill the positions on an interim basis while a more thorough search can be done for permanent replacements.
The council was scheduled to discuss and possibly make a decision on an interim city attorney at its Tuesday night meeting (past News Enterprise deadline). Current city attorney Sandra Levin’s last day is set for Jan. 31.
The city will then have until March 1 to find an interim replacement for Angie Avery, who is retiring from the position at that time. Councilman Dean Grose has been assigned to the ad hoc committee to search through the first round of candidates for city manager. Having served on the council in the past, Grose said that hiring interim people for management positions is something that has been done in the past.
“If you have an interim it works well,” Grose said.
Grose said that interim applicants are often qualified candidates who are retired, but can work for short periods of time. Grose said the city expects the process to find a permanent city manager to take about six months. He said an interim manager gives them enough time to find the best possible candidate.
The city is discussing what kind of qualifications it will look for in a new city manager, but has not set up those parameters yet.
“At this point, that direction hasn’t been vetted,” Grose said.
Grose said that the city has already received a few resume’s for the interim position, so he expects they will be able to make a smooth transition through the process. Grose said the departure of both the city attorney and city manager have put the city under some pressure, but he also noted that the council has faith in city staff members to keep city business running effectively.
Cypress being sued
On Jan. 15, attorney Janice Bellucci filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Cypress on behalf of California Reform Sex Offenders Laws.
Bellucci, who has multiple pending lawsuits, filed in the Southern District Court as a result of the city of Cypress passing an ordinance that prohibits sex offenders from public parks, libraries, and senior Centers.
The ordinance was passed unanimously by the Cypress City Council on March 12.
However, in November of 2012, a three-judge panel of the Orange County Superior Court decided that the Orange County ordinance violates the state constitution. That decision has been appealed, with a final decision expected by June 2013.
