Muristek
The Santa Barbara City Council today is scheduled to name Assistant City Attorney Sarah Knecht as the new city attorney.
Staff is recommending the council authorize Mayor Randy Rowse to execute an employment agreement with Ms. Knecht to serve as the permanent city attorney effective Dec. 17. Ms. Knecht would be appointed at a starting salary of $281,736 per year plus benefits.
Ms. Knecht has been serving as acting city attorney since July 25 when former City Attorney Ariel Calonne was placed on paid administrative leave, reportedly the result of a heated argument he had with someone in his office that was overheard by others and reported to Human Resources.
The council is scheduled to meet in chambers at City Hall, 735 Anacapa St., starting at 2 p.m.
In other business, the council is expected to appoint five new members to the Fire and Police Commission, with two members serving until Dec. 31, 2024 and three others serving until Dec. 31, 2026.
Before this happens, the council is scheduled to end the terms of service for current commission members.
The council approved an ordinance on Oct. 18 that assigned additional civilian police oversight duties to the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners, and authorized the City Clerk’s Office to facilitate a special recruitment of members to the Fire and Police Commission. As a result, there are five vacancies on the Fire and Police Commission. The council interviewed applicants for these vacancies at its meeting last week.
New members’ appointments will be effective on Jan. 1.
Twenty-four Santa Barbara residents applied for a seat on the commission, but not everyone appeared last week for an interview and they were eliminated from consideration.
email: nhartsteinnewspress@gmail.com
The post Knecht to be named city of Santa Barbara’s attorney appeared first on Santa Barbara News-Press.