By Paloma Esquivel | Los Angeles Times
Santa Ana has hired away Phoenix’s city manager and has agreed to an annual salary and benefits package of more than half a million dollars, instantly making him one of the highest paid city employees in California.
David Cavazos, a longtime Phoenix employee who rose through the ranks from intern to city manager during his 26-year tenure, would have a total compensation package of $558,625 in his first year in Santa Ana.
Only the city manager in tiny Indian Wells is listed as having a higher salary and benefits package at $677,172, according to the state controller’s office, which most recently released data for 2011. That paycheck included a severance payout to the city manager, who was stepping down .
In Santa Ana, Cavazos will earn a base salary of $315,000, the same basic salary he made as the chief executive in Phoenix, which has a population of 1.47 million. Santa Ana has a population of about 330,000.
