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Laguna Beach’s newly hired city manager was welcomed into the city through a taxpayer-funded $1.5 million loan to help him purchase a home in town.
Officials say it’s a necessary move to make sure the city manager is readily available in case of emergencies.
Councilmember George Weiss said the housing loan isn’t something the city should do all the time, but he felt it was justified in this case.
“He found a home that he wanted to live in, and it was a benefit to have him right in town,” Weiss said in a phone interview.
“I wouldn’t have done it for just anyone, but I value his experience and service as a city manager for the city of Newport Beach,” he said. “He was highly regarded there, and that’s why we did it.”
None of the other city council members responded to requests for comment in this story.
Dave Kiff, who previously served as city manager in Newport Beach and interim city manager in Huntington Beach, was appointed in April.
The council approved the loan in an August council meeting, replacing a $1,000 monthly housing stipend for the city manager with the loan agreement.
“The City of Laguna Beach has in the past provided housing assistance to the city manager — either in the form of a loan, or co-ownership of a home, or even both,” Kiff wrote in an email.
“Doing so helps ensure that the City Manager is close by should an emergency occur — in a location prone to emergencies (floods, fires, and earthquakes), and in a town that has only limited ways in and out (PCH and Laguna Canyon Road).”
Kiff emphasized that Laguna Beach isn’t the only one handling these kinds of loans.
In 2019, Huntington Beach officials approved a $1.5 million housing loan for then-City Manager Oliver Chi. Kiff was the interim city manager at the time.
“There are several high-housing cost communities in California that offer housing assistance (including loans) to city managers as an employment benefit,” Kiff said.
Kiff, who previously lived in Laguna Beach for years, is required to pay back the loan or put the property up for sale within a year of leaving his position in the city. His contract includes an annual base salary of $315,000.
“I know that during the City Manager recruitment process, multiple potential candidates shared with the City that the high cost of housing is a barrier to attracting candidates for the City Manager role here,” Kiff said, “which is why the job flyer referred to a potential for housing assistance as a benefit.”
The city used to have an essential employee housing assistance program that provided loans or co-ownership for certain city employees.
The program was active for nearly 20 years until the city council voted unanimously to discontinue the program in 2017.
That former program wasn’t just for the city manager.
From 2000 until 2017, the city handed out six housing assistance agreements for fire chiefs, water quality supervisors and assistant city managers, including Shohreh Dupuis — the controversial city manager who left office last year after leveling hostile workplace allegations against a sitting council member.
[Read: Laguna Beach Keeps Hostile Workplace Investigation Secret]
In 2017, council members voted to end the assistance program, claiming it was no longer necessary.
This time around, Weiss said the home loan could also help keep Kiff at the city’s helm for a while.
“I don’t like just giving out free stuff,” Weiss said. “In this case, I don’t think we did because we’ll benefit from him having a home here and hopefully his performance will be such that he stays here a long time and turns the city around.”
Angelina Hicks is a Voice of OC Tracy Wood Reporting Fellow. Contact her at ahicks@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @angelinahicks13
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