In a single motion, the Twentynine Palms City Council rescinded its approval of the City Manager contract for Joe Guzetta that it had approved in a special meeting on April 30, and approved essentially the same contract. Dan Stork adds details…
Before approving a contract for Joe Guzetta to serve as City Manager (4-0, Jay Corbin being absent), all the council members thanked former Council member Steve Spear for bringing their unwitting violation of state law AB 1344 on April 30 to the City’s attention. (AB1344, which prohibits discussion of compensation in special meetings, was signed into law in October 2011, in the wake of compensation scandals in the City of Bell, and is independent of the older Brown Act rules.) In the public comment time before the vote, former City Council member and mayor Jim Bagley characterized the proposed contract as fiscally irresponsible, especially with regard to pension liability. Resident Steve Irwin said that Twentynine Palms could do with an “entry level” City Manager, because it’s an “entry level city” in terms of the services it offers. Also speaking during public comment, Joe Guzetta said that he doubted whether any other prospective city managers would accept the limited severance provisions that he had agreed to, but “I have a passion for cities. I have felt a very good relationship with the Council in the interviews. I think we can work together very well.” Guzetta agreed with Bagley that the CalPERS pension funding is a serious issue statewide, but added that the City would be bound to follow state law for anyone it hired. Early in the meeting, Fire Chief Jim Thompson briefed the Council on the reduced levels of service and lengthened response times that are expected in the wake of the June 1 closure of the Lear Avenue station. In response to a question by Jim Harris, Thompson said that the reduced levels of service will still be better than what the county would have provided, had the county takeover of the Fire Department proceeded.
