NEWPORT BEACH : Alhambra’s City Manager Is Hired

Alhambra City Manager Kevin J. Murphy was named the new city manager Tuesday and will take the post March 23, earning $130,000 annually.

Murphy, 38, was greeted at City Hall with enthusiasm by department heads and City Council members. He replaces retiring City Manager Robert L. Wynn, who has been with the city 20 years.

“I’m not a terribly formal person. I’d like to be known here as ‘Kevin,’ ” said Murphy, who fielded questions from the press while his wife, Tina, and daughters Amy, 9, and Jennifer, 6, sat by his side.

Tuesday’s announcement of the council’s unanimous choice ends a four-month search for a new manager that was shrouded in secrecy and set back by the indictment of Utilities Director Robert J. Dixon on charges of embezzlement.

“It’s been a long but fruitful process,” Mayor Phil Sansone said. “I think we did well.”

Newport’s city manager is one of the the county’s highest-paid municipal employees. The city manager oversees directors of 16 departments, manages a $90-million budget and acts as the Administration’s final decision maker.

Wynn, who hoped to retire in December from the $143,000-a-year job, has stayed on, earning $70 an hour until the new manager is in place.

Murphy grew up in Anaheim, graduated from UCLA and made $100,000 annually in Alhambra. He said he doesn’t envision many changes at City Hall.

And he hopes to delegate a lot of responsibility to the department heads, as was Wynn’s management style.

He also wants to recoup the $1.8 million in city funds Dixon allegedly embezzled and to learn more about coastal and harbor issues.

He was one of the youngest city managers in the state when he won the Alhambra job in 1983, after holding assistant positions in Alhambra, Lancaster and Stanton. He was a finalist for city manager of Monterey in 1987.

Murphy’s accomplishments in Alhambra include overseeing a 10-acre redevelopment project known as Alhambra Place, bringing a $5-million clubhouse to the municipal golf course, and directing a sidewalk and street-light improvement program.

However, Murphy’s career has been dotted with controversy, such as a decision in December to lay off about 10 employees just before he was given a 15% pay raise.

Murphy plans to balance Alhambra’s $60-million budget before he leaves in March and may announce more layoffs to cover a $1.1-million shortfall.

Murphy was selected from a field of two other finalists and 87 original applicants.