LAGUNA BEACH : City Manager Gets Tentative Pay Hike

After an uncomfortable public debate about the salary and service of Laguna Beach City Manager Kenneth C. Frank, the City Council eventually endorsed the administrator Tuesday night and agreed to raise his pay.

The dissenter in the 4-1 vote was Councilman Wayne J. Baglin, who said during the televised discussion that Frank should start job-shopping because Laguna Beach needs “new eyes” in its top administrative post.

“I think Ken should be looking for another place,” Baglin said bluntly. “I do not believe it’s the best thing for Ken or the city to maintain his position as city manager.”

Baglin, who was elected to the City Council in November, also served on the council in 1979, when Frank was hired.

Longtime resident Bruce Hopping defended Frank, who lost his home in the October, 1993, firestorm. Despite the personal loss, Frank was at work the next day.

“You can’t find a better citizen than citizen Frank,” Hopping said. “You couldn’t buy what he did on the day of that fire.”

When the subject of Frank’s raise appeared on Tuesday night’s agenda, Councilman Paul Freeman said, he received many calls and faxes that were “extreme and passionate” on both sides. Some people expressed concern about increasing the $9,652 monthly salary, Freeman said.

Council members said a chief executive officer who runs a $29-million enterprise--the size of the city’s budget--would make more money. In addition, council members said, Frank helps them accomplish their goals.

The council voted to tentatively approve a 4% raise. They will make a final decision when they approve the 1995-96 budget in June.