Laguna Beach has hired a recruiting firm to help find a replacement for its outgoing city manager. The hunt for a new top bureaucrat began after John Pietig announced plans to retire in June after working with the city for 20 years. City council hired recruiting firm Bob Murray & Associates to help fill the role. The company has completed more than 60 successful recruitments of city managers across California in the past five years, according to a memo released by the city. “This is one of the most important positions in the city, and hiring the recruiting firm will allow us to thoroughly evaluate both internal and external candidates for the city manager position,” Laguna Beach Mayor Bob Whalen said in a statement. “We had an excellent experience with this recruiting firm on our recent search for the new general manager at the Water District and council is confident that this will be a well-run and comprehensive search.” The …