City manager search stays at $160,000 to $200,000, above the comparison sheet

The city commission is set Monday to discuss pay for the next city manager, the person who runs day-to-day city hall. The range is still $160,000 to $200,000, six figures on the table before anyone is hired.

On August 3 the search consultant had proposed $180,000 to $230,000. The commission decided that was too high and cut the band. The $200,000 top they kept is still higher than any salary on the comparison sheet prepared for that talk.

The memo comes from City Manager Max Royle, who has the job now. He writes that the range debate is what sent him looking for what other cities pay. His sheet runs from $190,000 in Daytona Beach Shores to $154,159. Managers who have been in the chair less than a year are listed at $157,476 in Green Cove Springs, $160,000 in Orange Park, and $172,000 in Palatka. The floor the commission kept is Orange Park's number, the pay listed for a manager new to the chair.

Jim Hanson and Steve Kennedy of the Florida City/County Management Association are scheduled the same night to review applications. The pay range and the names are up in the same sitting.

The matter is set for 6:00 p.m. Monday, October 5, at City Hall, 2200 A1A South.