ROSEMEAD – The newly-elected City Council already appears poised to replace City Manager Oliver Chi in one of its first actions after being sworn in two weeks ago.
The council agenda for a special meeting tonight includes a closed-session discussion with legal counsel about the city manager appointment. It is followed by a public discussion of whether to approve a contract for an interim city manager.
The agenda item reads: “It is anticipated that following the closed session the City Council may wish to consider approval of a contract for interim City Manager Services.”
Councilwoman Polly Low said she would hate to see Chi go.
“He is energetic, he is smart, he is innovative. What else can you ask for?” she said. “He has saved the city millions of dollars by removing a lot of wasteful spending, and worked with staff to get the city hundreds of thousands of grants.”
Chi did not return calls and Mayor Margaret Clark did not want to comment on the council agenda.
Chi has served as city manager since August 2007 and was interim city manager for several months before that, replacing fired City Manager Andrew Lazzaretto.
At the time he was appointed to the position, Chi was 27, one of the youngest city managers in Rosemead history.
The appointment came after a new City Council majority took over in 2007, with former Mayor John Tran at the helm. Tran lost in his re-election bid last month.
Tran’s replacement as mayor, Clark, and longtime Councilman Gary Taylor both opposed Chi’s appointment at the time, citing his age and lack of experience. Tran and Councilman John Nu ez lost re-election bids in March and were replaced by Steven Ly and Sandra Armenta, both Clark allies.
Previous to becoming city manager, Chi was Rosemead deputy city manager for about a year and assistant to the city manager in Claremont for nearly two years. He received his undergraduate degree in political science from UCLA and a master’s degree from USC in public administration in 2005.
Under his contract, Chi earned an annual salary of about $178,000.
Low said firing Chi could cost the city. When the city fired Lazzaretto, it had to adhere to his contract by paying him 18 months of severance pay.
Since the election, city attorney duties in Rosemead also have changed hands. City Attorney Bonifacio Garcia stepped down. He said in his resignation letter he was resigning “out of respect for the election process.”
While city officials seek a replacement, attorney services will be provided by Joe Montes of Burke, Williams and Sorensen, LLP.
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