City Manager

The Huntington Beach home of Robert Rizzo, the embattled former manager of the city of Bell, has fallen out of escrow just days after it found a buyer. The two-story, 3,250-square-foot home at 1935 Lake St. entered escrow Aug. 20 after a deal with a buyer was finalized, but the deal fell through Wednesday, according to Torelli Realty in Costa Mesa. The house is now back on the market. Bill Cuppy, Rizzo's listing agent, would not say why the deal was off or even confirm that the house had fallen out of escrow.

After opting to keep its own Fire Department intact, the loss of redevelopment funds has led Fountain Valley to reconsider sharing fire services with neighboring Huntington Beach. The potential loss of up to $1.4 million in redevelopment funds from the general budget is forcing Fountain Valley to reexamine its options of sharing services, said Fountain Valley City Manager Ray Kromer. "With us losing redevelopment money, we're just kind of making sure we're reexamining everything," he said.

Huntington Beach Police Chief Ken Small has announced his retirement after 11 years with the city. "He's got 40-plus years in law enforcement," City Manager Fred Wilson said. "It'll be a great loss to the city. I think [Small], in my opinion, was an outstanding chief. " Small started his law enforcement career of 42 years in 1971 with the Los Angeles Police Department, mainly working in the Watts division, which was a "pretty tough part of town," he said. "The first year I was in Watts, which is about half the size of Huntington Beach, we had 142 murders," Small said.

Friends and family members of a recently deceased, drug-addicted teen who attended Huntington Beach High School urged the City Council on Monday to work with schools in combating drug use among youths. "You guys have to do something about it," said an emotional Savannah Clark. "I know that education in the schools can make a difference. They need to know what they're putting in their bodies. " Clark is the cousin of Tyler Macleod, an 18-year-old who was using heroin around the time of his Sept.

An Orange County Grand Jury report on local cities' transparency regarding government compensation flunked Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley in at least one category. The neighboring cities both received an F grade for disclosure of executive salaries and benefits. Huntington Beach received a B for disclosure of employee salaries and for accessibility of information. Fountain Valley got a B in accessibility, but a D in the employee category. Huntington Beach City Manager Fred Wilson said the executive salaries were lumped in with all the employees' salaries.

Odors have been reported at several locations along the sewer line from Laguna Beach to Aliso Creek, according to City Manager Ken Frank. City officials have initiated an interim plan to apply chlorine to the lift stations, which will eliminate some odiferous material which Frank believes may exist in the force main and which may be causing gas production throughout the system. On a longer-range basis, city officials are watching a study by the Orange County Sanitation District in Seal Beach, which has installed a super oxygenation system at one of its pump stations to address an odor problem.

Huntington Beach will pay higher retirement contribution rates in the future, according to an actuary. John Bartel, of Bartel Associates, told officials during a council study session Monday that the California Public Employees' Retirement System is planning on changing its discount rate to 7.25% from the current 7.5%, requiring public employees to drop more money into the pension system. CalPERS describes the discount rate as being generally the same as the expected rate of return on investments.

A former Huntington Beach police officer has filed a claim for more than half a million dollars against the city, saying officials terminated him wrongfully, released information about an internal investigation unlawfully and denied him a medical retirement package. William Brubaker, who worked as an officer with the police department from 1992 until he was terminated in August, filed a claim that first was sent as a letter to City Manager Fred Wilson on Nov. 22. The city's risk management office, which processes claims against the city, received it Jan. 9. Brubaker became involved in an investigation regarding the handling of found property, in which he accidentally marked his wife's camera as found property with the police department, he said in the claim.

Asst. City Administrator Bill Workman may soon be leaving Huntington Beach for northern shores. On Nov. 30, the City Council of Redondo Beach is expected to appoint Workman as its new city manager, a position similar to city administrator, Redondo Beach's Mayor Pro Tem Chris Cagle said. Workman was selected by Redondo Beach after a four-month search to replace retired former City Manager Lou Garcia. He will oversee 500 employees. "I've made a lot of wonderful friends here and I'm sad that I won't be able to see them on a daily basis," Workman said.

Stray pets from Newport Beach will soon be found in Huntington Beach, now that the Newport Beach City Council approved a contract for a new animal shelter Tuesday. The Orange County Humane Society, a privately run facility on Newland Street, was approved unanimously among a number of proposals from nearby shelters. "I was impressed with the services they provide there," said Councilman Steve Rosansky, who co-hosts a public access television show that advertises animals up for adoption and recently visited OCHS.