Manager Is Selected in Fullerton

Fullerton council members selected a temporary city manager Wednesday, one week after the current top administrator announced he is taking a similar job in Santa Barbara.

Chris Meyer, 50, currently the city’s administrative services director, will serve for six months, then be considered for a full-time appointment.

“It is like a test period,” said city spokeswoman Sylvia Palmer Mudrick.

Meyer, whose current duties include overseeing the city’s budget, replaces James Armstrong, who held the post for nine years. Armstrong will leave Oct. 12 to become Santa Barbara’s city administrator. Meyer will start Oct. 13.

Council members did not discuss Meyer’s salary Wednesday, but it is expected to be around $145,000. Armstrong made $159,200 last year, said Mark Flannery, Fullerton’s director of personnel.

First hired as an intern in the city manager’s office in 1976, Meyer was appointed assistant to the city manager in 1983.

Meyer, who grew up in Claremont and Newport Beach, holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from San Diego State University and a master’s in public administration from Cal State Fullerton.