Meet Carmel's incoming city administrator, Chip Rerig.

After a long period of tumult in its leadership at City Hall, Carmel is set to appoint a new, permanent city administrator who started out as one of its own. 

Chip Rerig, chief of planning, engineering, and environmental compliance for the city of Monterey, is the top candidate for the job, confirms Interim City Administrator Mike Calhoun.

A proposed contract with Rerig will appear on City Council's Feb. 2 agenda for approval, and an official city announcement is expected Thursday morning. 

In a way, Rerig is returning to his roots. He was formerly planning director for Carmel, and started in the Carmel Planning Department right out of graduate school, before going on to spend more than a decade with the city of Monterey.

City Council voted last month to move forward with efforts to recruit Rerig before undertaking another nationwide search for a candidate. They did hire a headhunting firm to vet him before proceeding with negotiations.

Calhoun, also the Carmel police chief, has been at the helm of running the city's operations since the former interim city administrator, Doug Schmitz, abruptly resigned Oct. 31 after just a little more than a year on the job. 

Schmitz was widely praised for restoring unity to a Carmel on the brink of recall elections against council members.

Schmitz, who'd formerly served as Carmel city administrator from 1983-92, replaced embattled Jason Stilwell, who departed on bitter terms as the city was facing legal claims by multiple former employees arguing they'd been wrongfully terminated under Stilwell's leadership. 

While a subsequent Monterey County civil grand jury investigation largely exonerated Stilwell and his hatchet person, Susan Paul, some fired employees were eventually rehired and the city agreed to pay several settlements. 

Stilwell was hired to right the aftermath of another scandal, taking over after former City Administrator Rich Guillen, who resigned amid accusations of sexual harassment and a $600,000 legal settlement paid by the city. 

Finally, with Rerig, it looks like there could be some long-term stability and leadership. 

Mayor Jason Burnett and Rerig both declined to comment in advance of an official city announcement, but Barbara Livingston, a former councilwoman and president of the influential Carmel Residents Association, offered words of praise for Rerig.

"He had stellar performance as planning director in Carmel," Livingston says. "I am thrilled. Chip is a people person, and that is absolutely essential."

She says the two most essential attributes for a city administrator in Carmel are understanding the planning process and being accessible to the public.

"You could hire a headhunter to go out and find a city administrator. It doesn’t mean that person will understand Carmel and its people," she adds.