City manager to retire

Newport Beach City Manager Homer Bludau announced Thursday that he will retire in September, ending 10 years in the city’s top management slot.

During his tenure, Bludau has worked for 18 City Council members and overseen the city’s annexation of Newport Coast and the Santa Ana Heights areas, as well as the renegotiation of the John Wayne Settlement Agreement in 2003, which limited how much the airport could expand its flight operations.

Bludau, 63, plans to stay in Newport Beach after his retirement, devoting time to bird watching, as well as nonprofit work, which includes his involvement with Newport’s Environmental Nature Center.

“There’s no better place to live, and I’ve come to love and appreciate the community,” Bludau said. “I want to be apart of it as a resident now as opposed to city manager.”

Bludau has worked in municipal government for the past 32 years, earning his first city manager position in Avenal, Ariz., in 1980. He went on to serve as city manager for the cities of Rialto and Coronado before coming to Newport Beach in May 1999.

Bludau’s handling of professional services contracts with former city employees came under scrutiny in March when it was revealed he did not seek the approval of the City Council for an agreement allowing retired police officers to continue working for the department.

He also has been criticized for accepting free meals worth hundreds of dollars at the upscale Newport eatery 21 Oceanfront, owned by businessman Leo Gugasian. The city manager’s office later requested valet parking signs for the restaurant, records show.

The economy was bad and morale was low among city workers when Bludau arrived in Newport Beach. The city had gone through layoffs and a hiring freeze. Former City Manager Kevin Murphy had resigned in September 1998 in the face of a no-confidence vote by four members of the Council.

“[Bludau] was the right person at the right time and did exactly what we needed to do to rebuild the organization and establish good working morale,” said former Newport Beach Mayor Dennis O’Neil, who presided over the City Council that hired Bludau. “He’s proven over the past 10 years he has the skill and leadership qualities that have made him an exceptional city manager of Newport Beach.”

Councilman Don Webb, who has worked with five city managers over the course of his career with the city, beginning as a civil engineer in 1968, said he has been impressed with Bludau’s involvement with the community.

“He’s the type of person that has really worked hard to get to know the staff and has spent a tremendous amount of time getting out and knowing the community,” Webb said, noting Bludau’s involvement with Newport Beach Relay for Life and other local causes.

Bludau has expressed the desire to retire for a while, but has stayed on while the City Council has gone through hiring a new city attorney and clerk, after both retired last year, Mayor Ed Selich said.

“I think the guy has done a great job for the city, but when a person gets to the point he wants to retire, not much you can say about that,” Selich said.

The City Council is expected to begin a search for a new city manager at its next meeting by appointing a recruitment committee, Selich said.

Bludau, whose contract expires Sept. 1, has agreed to stay past that date if a new city manager has not been found by then.

HOMER BLUDAU

 Newport Beach City Manager Homer Bludau holds two master’s degrees from the University of Arizona.

 After college, he served as a missile crew commander in the United States Air Force for five years.

 Bludau began his career in municipal government in Yuma, Ariz., where he worked for three years, before earning his first city manager position in Avenal, Ariz., in 1980.

 He then went on to serve as city manager in Rialto and Coronado before coming to Newport Beach in 1999.

Reporter BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at brianna.bailey@latimes.com.