Atwater’s Pietro might be forced to quit as police chief or city manager

The man credited with saving Atwater from the brink of bankruptcy, Atwater police Chief and City Manager Frank Pietro, may be forced to give up one of his two jobs, the Merced Sun-Star has learned.

The City Council went into closed session last week to discuss whether the two public offices Pietro holds – city manager and police chief – are incompatible and pose legal risks for the city. But Pietro, 58, has been doing both jobs for nearly three years without the mention of a conflict.

“I really don’t know why this is coming up now,” Mayor Jim Price said. “Somebody somewhere figured it was something that needed legal examination. We are examining the legalities of the compatibilities of the two offices.”

According to several Atwater sources, the conflict is related to the supervisory structure of the two offices. The city code mandates that the police chief reports to the city manager, which is a problem since Pietro holds both positions.

But according to one independent expert, the newly discovered conflict can be easily resolved.

“It sounds like they set it up wrong,” said Robert Wechsler, a Connecticut-based author and director of research for City Ethics, a nonprofit that provides resources to local government ethics programs. “If the council set it up where both positions reported to the City Council, then there is really no problem.”

Wechsler said an ordinance that makes the police chief report to the council instead of the city manager would correct the issue. “It could be very easily solved,” he said. “It doesn’t sound like there is any abuse going on, and he’s not getting two salaries.”

Atwater Councilman Brian Raymond was absent for last week’s closed-session discussion, but he said the issue was brought to his attention last month. “I have no idea why it was brought up now, but it’s been brought to our attention and we’re working to fix it,” Raymond said.

Since it’s a personnel matter, Raymond declined to elaborate and referred further questions to the city attorney. Atwater City Attorney Tom Terpstra could not be reached Friday.

In an interview with the Sun-Star, Pietro said he was notified about the situation by the city attorney a month ago. Pietro said he’s a little surprised the incompatibility issue is coming up after three years on the job but will respect whatever decision the City Council makes.

“I’m just waiting for the council to make their decision on where they want me to go,” Pietro said. “Wherever they feel I’m needed, then I will do the best job that I can.”

Pietro, who grew up in Atwater, started his law enforcement career in 1978 as a reserve officer and worked his way up to Atwater police chief in 2011. He became interim city manager in 2012 after former manager Kathy Kivley was terminated.

Praising his effort to eliminate a staggering $6 million budget deficit, the City Council made Pietro the permanent city manager in July 2013. Pietro collects one salary to do both jobs, according to city records. His current annual compensation is $144,000, plus an $18,000 contribution from the city for his medical benefits.

When Pietro took the city manager job, the city had filled out bankruptcy paperwork and was 30 days away from filing it. Pietro wiped out the deficit by negotiating a 22 percent pay cut for police officers, laying off nine employees and making phone calls to collect nearly $1 million in debt owed to the city.

“We had a large number of people who hadn’t paid the city for quite a while,” Pietro said, “so I just got on the phone and started calling people.”

If Pietro is forced to give up the police chief job, one man’s name has floated around Atwater circles as a potential replacement: Michael Akers. The 61-year-old is the chief criminal investigator at the Mariposa County District Attorney’s Office. He lives in Merced County and grew up in Atwater.

Akers told the Sun-Star on Friday he would welcome the opportunity to be Atwater’s next police chief. “If the opportunity was presented to me, I would love to serve the people of Atwater,” Akers said. “That’s my home.”

Price said the incompatibility issue will be discussed again in closed session next month.

This story was originally published February 16, 2015 at 4:42 PM with the headline "Atwater’s Pietro might be forced to quit as police chief or city manager."