City Manager Given Lucrative Contract

MaryJane Lazz, confirmed this week as city manager, has signed a contract with benefits that reward both her work as assistant city manager during the past 18 years and her new status as the city’s top executive.

Lazz will earn an annual salary of $140,000, a jump of nearly $18,000 from her previous salary as assistant to longtime City Manager Grant Brimhall, who retired in February after 20 years at the city’s helm.

Brimhall earned about $130,000 when he retired.

Also, Lazz’s new contract entitles her to a city car or a comparable car allowance--as interim city manager, she received $400 a month for that expense--and grants her a minimum $300,000 term life insurance policy with a $250,000 travel life provision.

Lazz, confirmed Tuesday, will receive 40 vacation days per year, with the option of cashing out as many as 20 of those vacation days per year--a bonus of nearly $8,000 annually.

The city will also pay 7% of Lazz’s retirement contribution in addition to the normal employer contribution and will defer as much as 15% of her salary into a high interest bearing account until she retires.

Lazz’s salary is the second-highest for a city manager in Ventura County, barely trailing Simi Valley’s Michael Sedell, who earns about $141,000.