Highest-Paid City Manager’s Salary Assured

The City Council this week extended City Manager Paul Eckles’ employment contract, effectively locking in his salary for two more years despite suggestions by some residents that he should take a pay cut if voters agree to quadruple the mayor’s salary.

Eckles, who earns an estimated $116,148 annually in salary and benefits, is the highest paid city manager in the country, according to the International City Management Assn. in Washington. He is followed by Dallas City Manager Richard Knight Jr., who earns $106,000 a year.

Under the two-year contract extension, which was approved by a 4-0 vote with Councilman Danny Tabor absent, Eckles will continue to earn a base salary of $97,315. The amount will be adjusted annually by a minimum 4.5% cost-of-living increase, compared with the yearly 6.5% raises that the previous contract provided. The city will continue to place an additional 15% of the base salary in a deferred-income retirement account.

Early Renewal Policy

Eckles’ contract does not expire until November, 1987, but it is the council’s policy to renew the city manager’s contract 9 to 12 months before the expiration date, said Deputy City Manager Norman Cravens.

Though no one spoke for or against the contract extension at the Tuesday afternoon meeting--which had to be moved to the city library because of a power outage at City Hall--half a dozen residents who spoke at a public hearing earlier this month suggested that Eckles’ salary be decreased if voters approve a measure on the April 7 ballot that would change the City Charter to make Mayor Edward Vincent’s position a full-time job and increase his salary to $49,621 from $10,800.

“I don’t think this city needs two full-time paid leaders,” said longtime resident J. R. Richardson at the Dec. 9 public hearing. “Our city manager already earns too much money.”

In an interview at that time, City Councilman Virgle Benson also said the manager’s pay should be reduced if the measure passes, but in an interview this week he said he had changed his mind. He did not elaborate.

Salary Justified

Eckles said his salary is justified because he has taken steps to “eliminate the sources of blight and bring in new businesses and development.”

“I think people forget that I have been in this position for 10 years when they look at my salary,” Eckles said Tuesday. “I have had great success in this city.” Eckles said the residents who are calling for a pay cut if the ballot measure passes are “misinterpreting what the city means by full-time mayor.” He said the city would still operate under a strong-manager form of government if the ballot measure is approved.

Under the ballot measure, Eckles would continue to be the city’s chief administrator. Vincent’s duties would be changed to include responsibilities that he has assumed in the last four years but are not listed in the current Charter. Those duties include establishing and directing the city’s policy development process, appointing members of all boards and commissions with the advice of the City Council, and serving as chairman of the Redevelopment Agency, the Housing Authority and the Parking Authority.

“You are making a mistake if you attach any significance to the term full-time mayor,” Eckles said in an interview.

“The proposed change is merely a change in the compensation rate for the mayor to reflect the modern reality that it is a very demanding job. There will be no change in the form of government. I am not going to have fewer responsibilities if this measure passes.”

Hired in 1973

Eckles, 45, has been with the city since 1973 when he was hired as an assistant city administrator. He was hired for his current position in 1975 after the City Council fired City Manager Douglas Ayres.

Eckles’ initial contract with the city set his base salary at $68,026. The City Council voted to raise his salary to its current level in 1984 and amended the agreement to include a $275,000 loan for the purchase of a home to discourage him from leaving the post.

The contract extension changes the interest on Eckles’ home loan from a fixed 11% rate to a floating rate that will be reset in August of each year. The rate will be based on the previous year’s yield on the city’s investments in the State of California Local Agency Investment Fund, a state fund in which several cities deposit money.

City officials said that if such an arrangement were in effect now, Eckles could save as much as $150 a month because the state fund’s interest rate has been running 9% to 10%