Kiff gets a promotion

**CORRECTION: Incorrectly stated that Newport Beach Assistant City Manager Dave Kiff applied for a job as city manager of Newport Beach in 1998. The story should have said Kiff applied to be an assistant to the city manager in 1996.

Spectators in the packed Newport Beach City Council Chambers rose to their feet and cheered when the council named Assistant City Manager Dave Kiff as Newport’s new city manager at a special meeting Tuesday afternoon.

“He was not the automatic pick to get this job — he had to prove himself at each step,” Mayor Ed Selich said after the applause died down. “He’s got a lot of energy and ideas, and I believe he will be the man to lead the city into the future.”

Kiff, 44, has won praise for his handling of a number of high-profile issues in the community.

Since joining Newport Beach as an assistant city manager in 1998, Kiff has led the formation of the city’s award-winning water quality program and overseen the annexations of Newport Coast and Santa Ana Heights.

He also has helped the city obtain more than $24 million in state and federal money for city projects, including about $19 million in federal funds for cleaning Upper Newport Bay and Newport Harbor.

Kiff also is the go-to guy for the city’s multimillion-dollar civic center and park project in Newport Center, overseeing preliminary plans for the large-scale project.

“I’ve known Dave for five or six years, and everything Dave has touched has turned to gold,” Councilman Steve Rosansky said.

Kiff has also overseen the implementation of the city’s controversial drug and alcohol rehabilitation home ordinance.

The City Council passed the ordinance in January 2008 in response to resident complaints about the homes.

At least 13 of the homes have closed under Kiff’s watch since the ordinance was implemented.

Kiff is a four-time Ironman triathlete and volunteers his time with the Orange County AIDS Walk and the Festival of Arts in Laguna Beach.

A Laguna Beach resident, Kiff will move to Newport Beach now that he has been named city manager, per the requirements of the job.

Kiff applied for the city manager position 13 years ago, but the City Council at the time chose Homer Bludau.

Bludau, 63, is retiring in September.

An avid cyclist, Kiff went on several bike rides to blow off steam after he was passed over for the job, he told the crowd Wednesday afternoon.

“Just like 13 years ago, I still have Newport Beach in my system, and that condition may be irreversible,” Kiff said.

He went on to praise Bludau’s “infectious optimism” during his 13 years with the city and said he was honored to take over for him.

Bludau said he was pleased Kiff got the job.

“I have no doubts [Kiff] will make an outstanding city manager,” Bludau said.

“If he has it in his blood, that blood will be pumping for Newport Beach for years to come.”

The City Council approved an agreement to pay Kiff a base salary of $225,000 a year. The city also will pay Kiff up to $15,000 for his moving expenses and a $500-a-month automobile allowance.

Kiff will take over for Bludau on Sept. 12.

Councilmen Mike Henn and Don Webb had excused absences from the meeting Wednesday.

Dave Kiff

Age: 44

?Kiff joined the city of Newport Beach as an assistant city manager in 1998 after working as an assistant city manager in Orange.

?He also has served as an assistant to then-Orange County Supervisor Marian Bergeson and as a staff consultant to the California Legislature’s Senate Local Government Committee.

?Kiff holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Cal State Sacramento and a master’s degree in government administration from the Fels Institute at the University of Pennsylvania.

What Does A City Manager Do?

In a council-manager form of city government, like Newport Beach has, the city manager is a hired position that supervises city departments and carries out the city’s policies. All departments of city government report to the city manager, except the city attorney and city clerk, who report directly to the city council. The city manager also prepares the city’s annual budget. In Newport Beach, the city manager’s office also oversees code and water quality enforcement and issues relating to the city’s tidelands.