City manager will remain head of finance
Adam Pirrie’s dual roles are expected to result in savings
After serving in the role for four months with an interim title, Adam Pirrie this week stepped into the Claremont city manager’s position permanently.
In a 5-0 vote on Tuesday, Feb. 23, the City Council approved a one-year contract with Pirrie with optional one-year extensions.
Since October, Pirrie has held the interim title and has continued his work as finance director, which he will be allowed to continue, according to the agreement. The city will allow Pirrie to hire or enlist support to assist with his day-to-day work in the finance department.
The iterim appointment of Pirrie came after previous City Manager Tara Schultz abruptly announced she would be leaving the role. Schultz and the City Council reached a mutual agreement on her resignation, the city said then.
The decision to keep Pirrie in both roles for the past four months has resulted in savings of $95,886, the according to the city.
Starting a search for a new city manager would have resulted in $30,000 in costs and would have taken six to nine months to complete. Additionally,
hiring a new finance director would have resulted in an extra $288,000 in salary for the city to pay out, according to a staff report.
After meeting in closed session in January, the council decided it was in the best interest of the city to stick with Pirrie. The decision was made in part with knowledge of Pirrie’s long familiarity with the city as it takes on the tasks of the Village South Plan approval process, its Housing Element update and dealing with COVID-19 budget impacts.
“I love Claremont, I’ve worked here for a long time and I take the success of the community very personally,” Pirrie said Tuesday. “The last four months have been eye-opening to say the least but they’ve shown me that there’s more work that I can do to serve the community.”
Councilmember Corey Calaycay spoke about how impressed he was with Pirrie in the months since he’s taken the interim role and the impression he’s had on residents across the community.
“He’s definitely the right person for the job, he has the institutional knowledge, memory and right demeanor but the main thing is the personality,” Calaycay said. “Adam naturally has the right attitude for this.”
Mayor Jennifer Stark echoed a similar sentiment in how Pirrie has been a voice of calm in such unprecedented period for the city.
“It’s such a pleasure to feel 100% certain that this is the right choice for us right now,” Stark said. “Adam’s cooperative spirit and his equanimity is exactly what we need during these challenging times.”
Pirrie, who has been with the city since 2003 and was appointed finance director in 2011, is a member of the California Society of Municipal Finance Officers. Under his guidance, the city has received multiple awards, including the Government Finance Officers Association’s Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting Program each year for more than 10 years, according to the city.