What Will Lake Elsinore Pay Its Next City Manager?

As Lake Elsinore ramps up to find its next city manager, sticker shock may play into finding a qualified candidate.

During Tuesday night’s Lake Elsinore City Council meeting, His firing came after three city council members – Daryl Hickman, Melissa Melendez, and Peter Weber – voted to let him go. Mayor Brian Tisdale and Councilman Bob Magee voted in favor of keeping Brady on board.

After weighing in on Brady’s performance Tuesday night, Melendez suggested a pay reduction for the city manager. She was critical of his raises over the years and said the increases weren’t warranted, although in March 2009 she voted with her then-colleagues to extend Brady’s contract to 2013. At that time, the city’s manager’s salary was left untouched at $185,000 annually plus benefits, which is where it was at the time of his termination Tuesday.

As a “compromise” Tuesday night, Melendez suggested dropping Brady’s salary to his 2005 annual pay of $135,000 and she pushed for cuts in some benefits.

None of Melendez’s colleagues budged on the issue of salary negotiation, however. After Tuesday's vote, Tisdale, who showed support for Brady, said negotiation wasn’t fair to the former city manager.

It remains to be seen how Lake Elsinore's next top leader will be compensated.

According to City Clerk Virginia Bloom, the issue of hiring the next city manager is expected to be placed on the upcoming City Council meeting agenda, currently scheduled for March 27.

In the meantime, a look at 2010 city manager pay rates for cities of comparable population size to Lake Elsinore show no salary at the $135,000 mark. Out of the 14 cities with populations ranging between 50,000 and 52,999 in 2010, Lake Elsinore ranked 10th in city manager salaries that year:

Brentwood, Contra Costa County; Pop. 52,492: $237,420

Colton, San Bernardino County: Pop. 51,816: $220,000

Palm Desert, San Diego County; Pop. 52,067: $219,294

Poway, San Diego County; Pop. 52,056: $217,218

Glendora, Los Angeles County; Pop. 52,830: $201,825

Yucaipa, San Bernardino County; Pop. 51,476: $195,598

Gilroy, Santa Clara County; Pop. 52,027: $194,708

La Mirada, Los Angeles County; Pop. 50,015: $194,580

Placentia, Orange County; Pop. 52,305: $194,420

Watsonville, Santa Cruz County; Pop. 52,543: $189,142

Lake Elsinore, Riverside County; Pop. 50,983: $185,000

Cathedral City, Riverside County; Pop. 52,841: $182,700

Highland, San Bernardino County; Pop. 52,495: $168,849

Porterville, Tulare County; Pop. 52,960: $138,840

The data above was derived from the State Controller’s Office and reflects the most recent figures available, calendar year 2010. The populations reflect numbers as of June 30, 2010 (cities with populations numbering between 50,000 and 52,999). More than half of the cities shown above staffed an assistant city manager in the 2010 calendar year; Lake Elsinore doesn’t have anyone filling that position, nor did it in 2010.