Los Altos Hills City Manager Peter Pirnejad is taking some heat from residents who are blaming heavy town staff turnover on his management style.
During performance review items that have come before the Los Altos Hills City Council the past two months, some residents even called for his removal and questioned the council’s lack of response.
At a Nov. 13 meeting, 40-year resident Debbie Gualtieri noted: “I have heard firsthand from staff, and I am aware that the council has heard from every staff member who has left, that Peter’s management style is problematic. It is concerning that the city council is aware of the problem and is not taking action.”
Pirnejad, who joined the town staff in 2021, is undergoing a “360 review process,” in which feedback is being solicited from co-workers and others. The town hired a consultant to work on the process. Mayor Linda Swan said the council may conclude its review process by the end of the month.
Several residents also spoke out against Pirnejad at the council’s Oct. 10 closed meeting, citing high turnover and a reliance on consultants. Residents noted that half of the town’s 27 full-time positions had undergone turnover in the past 22 months.
Also noted was the perception that the city manager was initially against hiring private security in the wake of a wave of burglaries. The council ended up approving private security to bolster enforcement the town was receiving through its contract with the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office.
“We have a crisis on our hands with the home burglaries we are dealing with every day,” Angie Stalder said. “It is frustrating to stand by while attempts to improve our safety go unsupported. … Peter Pirnejad is not addressing the issues for the people of Los Altos Hills.”
Pirnejad himself was unfazed by the criticism.
“When I listened to the complaints, they’re not substantiated,” he said. “My track record is pretty clean. … We had a very productive year this last year. We had our housing element adopted and we were one of very few cities in the entire Bay Area to do that. … There’s always going to be disgruntled residents, and they have a right to express their concerns.”
Possibly related to the dissatisfaction was a new policy approved in January, in which a council ad hoc committee looked to implement a refined code of conduct for standing town committee members. The new rules, which included a form for filling out personal information, didn’t sit well with some committee members, while others didn’t see any reason for changes.
Swan read from a prepared statement at the Oct. 19 council meeting, calling for rescinding the policy changes, noting “the relationship between council, staff and the committees has been strained.”
The council agreed to a consent agenda item at the following meeting, Nov. 13, that officially revoked the changes.
The issue of city manager dissatisfaction is nothing new for the town. Pirnejad’s predecessor, Carl Cahill, ultimately resigned amid criticism of his job performance from residents.
Pirnejad was fired from his previous city manager position in Foster City after seven months on the job.
