Local News in Brief : Agoura Hills to Seek New City Manager

Agoura Hills City Council members will begin searching today for a successor to City Manager Michael W. Huse, who has resigned.

Huse, who has headed Agoura Hills’ city staff for three years, will leave his post Oct. 31 to become city manager of newly incorporated Solana Beach in San Diego County.

Mayor Vicky Leary said Wednesday that officials will decide how to recruit a replacement for Huse during a special 4:30 p.m. City Council meeting.

“We’d like to find someone just like him,” Leary said. “He has done a lot for the city and has been very good for the community.”

Huse, 42, said he is taking the $55,000 Solana Beach post because he was born and raised in that area and it will be a “homecoming” for him. He said the 4-month-old coastal city has a population of about 20,000 and is undergoing growing pains similar to those experienced by Agoura Hills since its 1982 incorporation.

In Agoura Hills, which has a similar population, Huse was paid $51,450.

Under Huse’s leadership, Agoura Hills has developed a master plan to control growth and emerged with a budget that is fattened with a $5.5-million surplus.

Huse said Wednesday that he feels his greatest accomplishment in Agoura Hills has been to “solidify the presence of City Hall in the community.”

“I wanted to let people know this is a place you can call and get an answer and results,” he said.

Leary said that council members plan to appoint assistant City Manager Felicity Kidd as acting city manager until a permanent replacement can be recruited early next year.

The mayor said officials will discuss today whether to hire an outside consultant to help find a new city manager or do it themselves.