City Manager to Be Paid $102,344 : Annual Salary to Be $4 Less Than Maximum Allowed

New San Diego City Manager Sylvester Murray will earn $102,344 in his first year as city government chief, $4 less than the maximum for the job allowed under city law, the City Council decided in a unanimous vote Monday.

Murray, 43, the city manager of Cincinnati, was chosen last week by the council from among six finalists identified in a nationwide talent search. He replaces Ray Blair, who retired June 27 because of poor health. According to the contract agreed to Monday by Murray and ratified by the council later in the day, Murray will begin work Sept. 9.

The contract was negotiated last week by Murray and Mayor Roger Hedgecock, who was given sole authority by the council to negotiate the contract. Before those negotiations, Hedgecock had said that the days when San Diego could hire a city manager “at bargain-basement prices” were over. Blair earned $85,000 in his last year as city manager; Murray earned $80,000 annually in Cincinnati.

Murray has specified that $7,280 of his salary be deferred for annual payment to a pension and retirement plan sponsored by the International City Managers Assn., said Jack Katz of the city attorney’s office, who was the city’s legal adviser on the contract.

A city automobile will be provided Murray, in addition to all other benefits received by city employees. Should Murray be fired, his contract stipulates that he would receive six months’ salary in severance pay.

In addition, Murray will receive a one-time housing assistance stipend of up to $25,000 to assist in his purchase of a residence in San Diego, Katz said. “This was all part of the negotiation process,” Katz said. “We have yet to determine exactly what this figure on housing will be, although it cannot be more than $25,000, which essentially is the difference in the average price of homes between here and Cincinnati. What the city is doing is making up the difference he’ll lose when he sells his home in Cincinnati and buys a comparable home here.”

Other one-time benefits Murray will receive include a maximum of three, $1,000-per-month payments for temporary rental expenses and payment of his moving expenses from Ohio.

Murray, who had been city manager of Cincinnati since 1979, previously worked as city manager of Ann Arbor, Mich., and Inkster, Mich., and as assistant city manager of Richland, Wash., and Daytona Beach, Fla. He holds a bachelor of arts degree from Lincoln University in Philadelphia and master’s degrees from Eastern Michigan University and the University of Pennsylvania.

Mel Buxbaum, Hedgecock’s press secretary, said Murray would be introduced in a press conference sometime next month. The council also has agreed to pay Murray’s travel expenses for that trip from Cincinnati to San Diego.