Local News in Brief : Anaheim : Simpson to Get $100,000 as New City Manager

Acting City Manager Bob Simpson, the former deputy city manager and fire chief, has been appointed city manager nearly four months after his predecessor was forced to resign amid complaints about management style and personality.

After a closed-door session Tuesday, the Anaheim City Council voted to approve the appointment, 4-0, with Councilwoman Miriam Kaywood abstaining.

Simpson, 57, has been acting city manager since Sept. 1, when he took over from the former city manager, William O. Talley, who resigned after 11 years on the job.

At the time of Talley’s resignation, council members had indicated they would conduct a national search for a replacement. Simpson had said he did not want the post permanently. But since then, Simpson and the council have changed their minds.

Simpson will assume the title of city manager with an annual base pay of $100,000, a raise from the $90,400 he made as acting city manager. He will have to move from his Buena Park home to fulfill city charter requirements that the city manager live in Anaheim. But unlike Talley, Simpson said he did not seek an employment contract with the city and will receive the same benefits package received by other city executives.

Simpson, a former Los Angeles County deputy fire chief, was named Anaheim fire chief in 1980 and promoted to deputy city manager in 1985. He was also a temporary coordinator of the city’s convention center and two golf courses.