Fountain Valley city manager to get $20,000 raise

Fountain Valley City Manager Rob Houston will get a raise of nearly $20,000, the City Council decided Tuesday night.

The increase is intended so Houston will make a higher annual base salary than the police chief, whom he supervises.

Houston, a deputy city manager in Newport Beach before joining Fountain Valley, was hired in July at a salary of $210,000. The pay adjustment will bump him to $229,900, or 5% higher than Police Chief Kevin Childe’s base pay, which is set to increase later this year.

“The city manager reviews and supervises all department heads, so it’s logical and it’s reasonable and, for a number of other reasons, it’s appropriate for the city manager’s salary to actually be higher than those that he supervises,” said Colin Burns, the city’s attorney.

The raise, totaling about 9.5%, comes in two parts: an increase from $210,000 to about $223,200, retroactive to Feb. 20, and then a bump to $229,900 as of July 13, when Childe’s raise goes into effect.

The council approved Houston’s raise on a 4-1 vote after a brief discussion.

“I want to compliment my colleagues on making the decision to hire this young man several months ago,” said Councilman Larry Crandall, who was appointed to the council in February to fill the opening created by Mark McCurdy’s resignation. “With my interaction with him over the last several weeks, I want to say you guys made one heck of a great choice.”

Councilwoman Cheryl Brothers, who cast the dissenting vote, said she supported the reasoning for the increase but didn’t agree with the retroactive part, which she said the city typically doesn’t grant to other employees.

hillary.davis@latimes.com

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