The Las Cruces City Council voted in a 6-0 decision to approve an approximate 19 percent salary increase for the city manager position. Council Member Yvonne Flores was absent from the meeting and did not have the opportunity to vote.
The city will offer Ifo Pili, who previously worked as the city administrator in Eagle Mountain, Utah, $216,000 of base pay to take on the role of city manager.
Council Member Gabe Vasquez said he was originally shocked by the high salary, but feels the increase is necessary to attract top leaders to the city.
“They come at a price that's dictated by the market within the city administration world,” Vasquez said. “And so that was kind of a hard pill to swallow for me, right, having again experienced a different type of salary range my whole life, but regardless I have a confidence that Mr. Pili will do great things for our city.”
Mayor Ken Miyagishima emphasized Pili did not ask for a salary increase, rather for the city to match what he previously made in Utah. There, his salary was combined with additional pay from Eagle Mountain for various other responsibilities.
“I know you're thinking, gosh, that’s a lot. Yes, it is. It's a lot of responsibility…he becomes probably the highest paid city manager in the city's history,” Miyagishima said. “His focus, and you'll like this colleagues, is to reduce the poverty rate, and increase the per capita income. And if he can move the needles on those two areas, he is well worth his salary.”
Many on the city council said they understood why some Las Cruces residents might have sticker shock, but every single member present at the meeting expressed they felt Pili will be a force for change in the community and worth the investment.
In a comment read by Miyagishima, one community member expressed they felt the city manager role should be absorbed by other people already working in city government to curb costs.
“I'm writing to request you table the approval for the vote of over $210,000 salary for the new city manager, at least until a determination can be made whether the city council should continue the city manager form of government or the alternative strong form that many cities are migrating to in order to curb costs,” the comment read. “I believe it is time for the state and local organizations to sever themselves from the mantra, a feeling that they have to offer compensation in excess of comparable positions elsewhere in order to snare the best candidate.”
The $216,000 salary makes Pili the highest paid city manager in New Mexico. In Albuquerque, a city about five times the size of Las Cruces, the top city administrator makes around $194,000. In 2018, Santa Fe hired a city manager for about $170,000.
Mayor Pro Tem Kasandra Gandara cited New Mexico cities like Albuquerque as reasons Las Cruces needs to remain competitive when considering salaries for government positions.
“I want to remind folks that we're the second largest county in the state,” Gandara said. “And when you look at places like Albuquerque when their chief operating officer is making $165,005, I think we need to start looking at us in a very different way.”
Meanwhile, Pili said he’s just excited to get to work. He’ll start in his new position Sept. 8.
“Thank you for your vote of confidence in me councilors," Pili said after the salary increase was passed. "I really am very, very excited to be a part of the Las Cruces team, and family, if I may.”
