HUNTINGTON BEACH : City to Act on Raise, Bonus for Uberuaga

The City Council has tentatively agreed to give City Administrator Michael T. Uberuaga an 8 1/2% pay raise plus a $10,000 bonus, Mayor Peter M. Green said Wednesday.

The raise, not including the bonus, would bring Uberuaga’s salary to about $128,000 a year.

Green said the bonus was a contingency included in Uberuaga’s contract when he was hired in February, 1990. The mayor said that the council, as an incentive to Uberuaga, offered a $10,000 bonus at the end of his first year if he accomplished some major tasks. One major job was getting the city ready for development of the 768-acre Holly-Seacliff site, Green said.

Green said the council believes Uberuaga has done an “outstanding” job and more than qualifies for the bonus.

“I think Mr. Uberuaga is an outstanding, dedicated, highly ethical public servant, and the city is fortunate to have a person with his experience and intelligence,” Green said.

The 8 1/2% regular pay raise for the city administrator is the same percentage pay hike that went to all other city employees, Green said. The city has managed to give the pay increases despite a $4-million shortfall in anticipated income this fiscal year due to the recession. The shortage is being bridged by tapping reserve funds.

The pay raise, expected to be ratified by the council at its Monday night meeting, would make Uberuaga the fourth-highest-paid city manager in the county, the mayor said.