CITY OF SANTA MONICA
EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT
This Employment Agreement, entered into as of _________________, 2026 (“Execution Date”), by and between the City of Santa Monica, a California municipal corporation (the “City”), and Heidi von Tongeln (“von Tongeln” or “Employee”), is made with reference to the following.
RECITALS
A. On March 10, 2026, the Santa Monica City Council appointed von Tongeln to the position of City Attorney of the City of Santa Monica effective as of March 22, 2026 (“Employment Date”).
B. The City and von Tongeln wish to enter into an agreement setting forth the terms and conditions of von Tongeln’s employment as the City Attorney of the City of Santa Monica.
NOW, THEREFORE, the City and von Tongeln agree as follows:
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
1. Salary.
1.1 Commencing as of the Employment Date, the City agrees to pay Employee an annual base salary in the amount of $395,352.00, as established in the City’s Salary Schedule in effect as of that date for the position of City Attorney, and payable in installments in the same manner and at the same time as other City employees are paid.
1.2 In July of each year, commencing in July 2026, Employee’s annual base salary shall be automatically adjusted in the same percentage as any salary increase that may be granted to participants of the Executive Pay Plan (EPP) for that fiscal year.
2. Performance Evaluations. The City Council will complete formal performance evaluations of Employee’s performance in the position of City Attorney as follows: (a) initial evaluation after completion of first 6 months of employment as City Attorney; (b) second evaluation after completion of first 12 months of employment as City Attorney; (c) thereafter, an annual evaluation after completion of every 12 months of employment as City Attorney. Prior to the commencement of each annual evaluation period, Employee and the City Council will meet and jointly define goals, performance objectives, and measurable metrics for the evaluation period that they determine appropriate for the attainment of the City Council’s policy objectives and establish the relative priority among the various goals and performance objectives. The goals and performance objectives shall be defined in such a way that they are generally obtainable within time limits established by Employee and the City Council, in accordance with the annual operating and capital budgets and appropriations approved by the City Council. In addition to the annual performance evaluation, Employee may request additional performance evaluations, and the City Council in its discretion may conduct, whether at the request of Employee or on City Council’s own accord, additional performance evaluations. Upon mutual agreement, an annual performance evaluation shall be performed with the assistance of a mutually selected, third-party facilitator.
3. Benefits.
3.1 Executive Pay Plan. Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, Employee shall have those benefits and privileges of employment provided to participants of the Executive Pay Plan, as may be amended from time to time. To the extent provisions in this Agreement differ from provisions in the Executive Pay Plan, the provisions of this Agreement shall control.
3.2 Current Leave Accrual Balances. As of the Employment Date, Employee’s maximum Vacation Leave accrual limit will increase to 504 hours. Employee may roll over 56 hours of accrued and unused MOU PERS N leave and 16 hours of Holiday Pay into Vacation Leave. Employee may also make a one-time conversion of 36 hours from the Personal Leave Bank to Cashable Management Leave and cash out those hours at the current City Attorney payrate with the EPP.
4. Home Ownership Option.
4.1 City shall make a home loan available to Employee at a fixed interest rate of 3.50 percent to purchase a home in the City of Santa Monica as Employee’s primary residence.
4.2 The loan shall be made on terms standard for residential real estate loans. The term of the loan shall be no less than 15 years and no more than 30 years. Payment options shall include “interest only” and “principal plus interest.” The loan will be secured by the real estate in the manner customary for residential loans.
4.3 The loan shall not exceed $2 million, and Employee agrees to provide a down payment of at least ten percent of the purchase price of the home.
4.4 Employee shall be responsible for property taxes and insurance. The City shall be named as an insured on such insurance.
4.5 Within two years of the date on which Employee’s employment by the City in the position of City Attorney ends, whether as the result of resignation, termination, separation, or for any other reason, Employee shall buy out the loan from the City by paying off all outstanding principal and interest.
5. Severance Pay and Severance Benefits.
5.1 The position of City Attorney may be terminated at the discretion of the City Council in accordance with the procedures set forth in City Charter Section 700. In the event of such a termination of Employee’s employment, or upon Employee’s separation from employment by mutual agreement documented in writing between the City and Employee, the City shall pay to Employee severance pay in an amount equal to 9 months of Employee’s base monthly salary, such payment to be made within 30 days of Employee’s termination or separation from employment.
Severance pay shall not be required pursuant to this Section, and Employee shall not be entitled to any severance pay only if: (a) Employee resigns or retires; (b) the termination of Employee from the position of City Attorney was the result of good cause as defined below; (c) Employee’s termination was the result of a conviction under section 5.3 below; or (d) Employee transfers from the position of City Attorney to any other position in City employment. For purposes of this Agreement, good cause is defined only as follows: (1) conviction of Employee, whether by verdict or plea of guilty or nolo contendere, of any crime of moral turpitude; (2) willful misconduct by Employee; or (3) proven failure of Employee to observe or perform any of her duties and obligations as City Attorney, if that failure continues for a period of 30 calendar days from the date of Employee’s receipt of written notice from the City Council specifying the acts or omissions deemed to constitute that failure.
5.2 As of the date on which Employee is no longer employed by the City as its City Attorney, unless Employee remains employed by the City in another position, Employee shall be paid all eligible accrued benefits under this Agreement.
5.3 If Employee is convicted of a crime involving an abuse of her office or position as City Attorney, all the following shall apply: (l) if Employee is provided with administrative leave pay pending an investigation, Employee shall be required to fully reimburse the City such amounts paid; (2) if the City pays for the criminal legal defense of Employee (which would be in its sole discretion, as it is generally not obligated to pay for a criminal defense), Employee shall be required to fully reimburse the City such amounts paid; and (3) any severance pay pursuant to Section 5.1 above that Employee may have already received from the City shall be fully reimbursed to the City. For purposes of this Section, abuse of office or position means either: (1) an abuse of public authority, including waste, fraud, or violation of the law under color of authority; or (2) a crime against public justice.
6. Exempt Employee. As City Attorney, Employee is an exempt employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act, works during normal business hours of the City, and is required to devote whatever time is necessary to accomplish the work of the City Attorney position without eligibility to accrue additional compensatory time or to be paid overtime compensation. As a result, Employee will not have to account for her work time on an hourly basis and will only need to account for each full day of absence that occurs on a regularly scheduled workday.
7. Notice of Resignation. If Employee decides to resign from employment by City in the position of City Attorney, Employee will provide the City Council with at least 60 days’ advance written notice.
8. Duration of Agreement. The parties acknowledge and agree that the terms and conditions of this Agreement apply to the complete term of Employee’s continuous performance of job duties in the position of City Attorney, provided as of the Employment Date and prior to the execution of this Agreement. This Agreement shall continue in full force and effect for a period of five years, commencing as of the Employment Date until March 10, 2031 (the “Initial Term”), or such earlier date on which Employee, pursuant to the terms of this Agreement, is no longer employed by the City as its City Attorney, whether as the result of resignation, termination, separation, or any other reason. On March 11, 2031, and on each succeeding March 11th while this Agreement is in effect, the Initial Term, and any subsequent term resulting from extension of this Agreement, shall be automatically extended for successive periods of one year.
9. Tuition Reimbursement. Consistent with participants of the Executive Pay Plan, Employee will be reimbursed for tuition and required study materials for career improvement or job enhancement courses approved by the Mayor up to $2,500/annually.
Professional dues, memberships, and continuing education are considered within the City Attorney’s Office department budget.
10. Integrated Contract. This Agreement represents the full and complete understanding of every kind or nature whatsoever between the parties. Any preliminary negotiations and agreements of any kind or nature are merged into this Agreement. No oral agreement or implied covenant may be held to vary the provisions of this Agreement. This Agreement may be modified only by written agreement signed by the City and Employee.
11. No Presumption Against Any Party. This Agreement is the product of the efforts of all parties, and the terms of this Agreement shall not be construed or interpreted for or against any party solely on the grounds that the party proposed or drafted a particular clause.
12. Governing Law. The laws of the State of California, without regard to any choice of law provisions, will govern this Agreement.
13. Venue and Jurisdiction. Any litigation arising out of this Agreement may only be brought in either the United States District Court, Central District of California, or the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, West District, as appropriate. The parties agree that venue exists in either court, and each party expressly waives any right to transfer to another venue. The parties further agree that either court will have personal jurisdiction over the parties to this Agreement.
14. Severability. If any part, term, or provision of this Agreement is declared or determined by a court to be illegal, invalid, or unenforceable, the legality, validity, and enforceability of the remaining parts, terms, or provisions of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby, and the illegal, invalid, or unenforceable part, term, or provision shall either be deemed modified in such manner as to render such part, term, or provision legal, valid, and enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by law or shall be deemed not to be a part of this Agreement.
15. Waiver of Breach. A non-breaching party may waive the breach of any provision of this Agreement only by executing a writing. Waiver of any breach shall not be deemed to be a waiver of any other breach of the same or any other provision of this Agreement.
16. Indemnification. To the full extent of the law as provided by the California Government Claims Act (Gov. Code, §§ 810 et seq.), the City shall defend and indemnify Employee against any claim or action filed against Employee for injury or loss arising out of an act or omission occurring with the scope of the Employee’s duties on the City’s behalf for the period of Employee’s employment, subject to the limitation of the California Government Claims Act.
17. Electronic Signatures. Each party agrees that the transaction consisting of this Agreement may be conducted by electronic means. Each party agrees and acknowledges that it is such party’s intent, that if such party signs this Agreement using an electronic signature, it is signing, adopting, and accepting this Agreement and that signing this Agreement using an electronic signature is the legal equivalent of having placed its handwritten signature on this Agreement on paper. Each party acknowledges that it is being provided with an electronic or paper copy of this Agreement in a usable format.
18. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed simultaneously or in any number of counterparts, including both counterparts that are executed manually on paper and counterparts that are in the form of electronic records and are executed electronically, whether digital or encrypted, each of which shall be deemed an original and together shall constitute one and the same instrument.
In witness whereof, this Agreement was executed on the day and year first written above.
CITY OF SANTA MONICA,
a municipal corporation
By:
Caroline Torosis, Mayor Heidi von Tongeln, Employee
APPROVED AS TO FORM: ATTEST:
Susan Cola, Assistant City Attorney Denise Anderson-Warren, Interim City Clerk