DEL MAR – The Del Mar City Council placed City Manager Christa Johnson on paid administrative leave pending the regularly scheduled council meeting on February 16, the city announced Friday.
The move comes after a pair of closed session performance evaluations regarding Johnson on February 1 and February 3. Administrative Services Director Ashley Jones will be acting city manager during Johnson’s leave, according to an official city statement.
No city officials would comment on the specific nature of the decision.
Deputy Mayor Dwight Worden, speaking generally on closed session performance evaluations, said the city manager was subject to performance reviews at 6 months after hiring followed by annual evaluations from the time of hiring.
Johnson began her tenure as city manager in February 2020 and did have her first performance reviews in August last year.
“The only employees who actually work for the council are the city manager and city attorney, so we do contracts with them and we do their reviews,” Worden said.
Worden also noted that when the city council performs its evaluations, it is common for there to be more than one closed session.
“In general when we do performance reviews there is back and forth,” Worden said. “It usually takes two meetings maybe, possibly more.”
Johnson replaced former City Manager Scott Huth last year after Huth’s retirement following eight years in the position. Johnson previously worked as the assistant city manager in Laguna Beach.
The Del Mar City Council normally meets every first and third Monday of the month but their next meeting will be Tuesday, February 16, due to the Presidents’ Day holiday. The Zoom meetings can be watched online on the city’s website.
