ANAHEIM : Consultant Hired to Find a City Manager

The city has hired a Sacramento consulting firm to conduct a national search for a new city manager, despite a last-minute attempt by Mayor Fred Hunter to keep the current city manager.

Hunter asked for a public hearing on whether Robert Simpson should be retained to follow through on the arena and other projects underway. That proposal was defeated 3-2.

Simpson, formerly Anaheim’s fire chief, became city manager in 1987 after the City Council fired William O. Talley. Council members Tom Daly, Miriam Kaywood and Irv Pickler voted against. The campaign to keep Simpson was supported by the Muncipal Employees Union, which has distributed about 900 buttons bearing Simpson’s picture around city hall.

Simpson announced Oct. 3 that he will retire in May. The new city manager will supervise a budget of $568 million and a staff of 4,600 employees.

Ralph Andersen & Associates will be paid $14,500 to find a replacement.

The selection of a new city manager will be announced in late March or early April, said Dave Morgan, Anaheim’s human resources director. The job will pay from $108,000 to $149,000 a year, depending on the experience of the administrator, Morgan said.

In addition to running Anaheim, which has 234,000 residents, the city manager also oversees the operation of the Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim Stadium and the city’s power and water utilities.