The South Pasadena City Council voted 5-0 Friday to approve an agreement with Donald E. Penman to serve as Interim City Manager, starting July 31. City officials indicated he would arrive 7:30 am Monday.
The hourly agreement calls for Penman’s term to end after the Council appoints a permanent city manager, until he reaches a total of 960 hours (about 24 weeks), or until he or the city terminates the agreement–whichever comes first. He will be paid $115.14 per hour, which the city said is equivalent to the $239,498.18 annual salary former city manager Arminé Chaparyan was getting prior to her departure last month.
Penman, one of several candidates the city considered, has previously been city manager in San Fernando and Baldwin Park. He worked 14 years for the City of Arcadia, retiring as city manager there in 2011. Since then, he has served as interim city manager for Azusa, Covina, San Fernando, Temple City, Ventura and Calabasas. His career “spans over 40 years in primarily full-service cities with police and fire departments and he has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from University of Southern California,” the city said in a staff report.
As a retired annuitant from California Public Employees’ Retirement System, Penman will not receive any additional benefits or compensation from the city besides the hourly salary.
“The City Council is pleased to welcome Don to our City. With his extensive experience in local government he has a deep understanding of city operations. His wealth of knowledge will provide a steady hand as we work through this transitional period in the City” said Mayor Evelyn Zneimer. “We also thank Chief Brian Solinsky and Community Services Director Sheila Pautsch for graciously stepping in and leading our City as Co-Acting City Managers. They have gone above and beyond the call of duty.”
Penman did not appear at the city council meeting, but has already been in touch with staff, the city attorney reported.
In a recent interview he gave to a trade organization, Penman was asked about the greatest challenges facing city managers in California today. He said they “are dealing with greater polarization and lack of civility in the public discourse, along with state mandates attempting to address complex issues such as climate change and housing production, which cause significant consternation and conflict within our communities.” The full interview is online: CLICK HERE.
“I am honored that the City Council has selected me to be their interim City Manager,” Penman said in a city press release. “I look forward to working with the City Council, City staff and the community during this transitional period.”
After the meeting, Zneimer told the South Pasadenan News the city will wait until after it adopts a budget to decide whether it will seek a permanent city manager in-house or go through a recruitment. Due to delays in finalizing the new budget, the city is currently operating under an extension of last year’s budget, and has until the end of August to adopt its new budget.
Also during the meeting Friday, the Council adopted a formal salary schedule for the position of city manager, which it is required to have but either was not previously included in the city’s schedules “and/or was not located” among the city’s documents, according to a report by City Attorney Diaz. In response to a question from Council Member Janet Braun, Diaz confirmed the amount in the schedule for city manager, $239,498.18, does not bind the council in its negotiations with candidates for a permanent city manager.
Also this week, Diaz said because it was a personnel matter, she could offer no detail on how the Council arrived at the $307,000 lump sum it agreed to in the separation agreement it reached with Chaparyan, nor whether terms in Chaparayn’s employment agreement requiring that she provide 45 days’ notice of her decision to retire were complied with.
