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Council approves new citywide salary schedule after split vote over deputy city manager pay
Summary
By a 3–2 vote, Manhattan Beach City Council approved a comprehensive citywide salary schedule that establishes a budgeted salary for a new deputy city manager post despite objections from two council members about cost and timing.
Manhattan Beach’s City Council on Sept. 16 approved a resolution adopting a comprehensive citywide salary schedule that creates a deputy city manager position and sets its budgeted pay level, though the decision drew sharp objections from two council members.
Director of Human Resources (Director Jenkins) told the council the discrepancy in pay shown in the staff report reflected timing: labor-negotiated increases for unrepresented executives were authorized earlier, but the executive compensation plan had not yet returned to council for final approval. “Once the compensation plan is approved … they will all be at the same salary level and that is consistent with what council approved and how it was budgeted,” Director Jenkins said, explaining that the deputy position was included at the budgeted amount while other director-level ranges await final comp-plan action.
Mayor Pro Tem Franklin opposed the action on fiscal and policy grounds, arguing the combination of pay for the city manager and the proposed deputy “is a very expensive proposition for the executive team” given the city’s size. “This means that there [is] a combined … over $600,000 a year to manage a city of our size,” he said.
Council Member Hworth moved to approve the schedule, saying the city needs capacity to manage ongoing projects and that the budget process accounted for the positions. The motion was seconded and carried with a 3–2 vote; Mayor Prom Franklin and Council Member Sherillian voted no.
What happens next: staff said the executive comp plan will return to council for formal adoption, at which time the technical salary ranges for directors and the deputy city manager will be aligned. Council also discussed alternatives such as posting the job with an asterisk noting an anticipated adjustment once the comp plan is finalized.
The council’s approval sets in motion recruitment for the new post and directs staff to ensure job postings reflect the intended salary level pending formal comp-plan approval.
