Foster City Fires City Manager, Taps Police Chief For Acting Role

FOSTER CITY, CA — Foster City City Manager Peter Pirnejad was fired on Wednesday after less than eight months on the job, the city council announced following a closed session meeting.

City officials did not provide a reason for the decision, which was effective immediately. The termination was “without reference to cause” under the terms of Pirnejad’s contract, according to a news release. Pirnejad will also receive nine months of severance pay because his contract was terminated within two years.

Police Chief Tracy Avelar will serve as acting city manager, the city announced. The city plans to hire an interim city manager and recruit for a new city manager.

Pirnejad, who previously served as the assistant city manager in Napa and development services director in Palo Alto, was hired last December.

At the time, Mayor Catherine Mahanpour lauded Pirnejad’s “knowledge, perspective and energy” and expressed confidence in Pirnejad’s’s “ability to manage and lead the city well into the future.”