El Cajon council OKS raise for city manager
The El Cajon City Council voted unanimously last week to increase its top administrator’s pay, after leaders privately praised his work overseeing hundreds of municipal employees.
City Manager Graham Mitchell received a 3 percent raise, bringing his annual salary to a little over $295,817.
“We are very happy,” Mayor Bill Wells said after the public meeting.
He said all five members of the council were complimentary during a closed-door discussion last month about the manager’s performance.
The raise should be seen as both a cost-of-living increase and a vote of confidence, the mayor added.
“I appreciate it,” Mitchell said in a brief interview. “I love being here.”
The city manager oversees the municipality’s $83 million budget on behalf of elected leaders. Mitchell previously worked as city manager for Lemon Grove and Escondido, and as El Cajon’s assistant city manager, before taking the top job in 2018.
His original contract included a base salary of $236,000. Mitchell has received four raises since then, according to city records.
The newest will be retroactive to April 13 of this year. On April 12, the council met in closed session to discuss Mitchell’s job performance.
No leaders spoke publicly about the meeting at the time, beyond noting that they planned to evaluate Mitchell again in a year.
Last Tuesday’s vote was similarly quick and didn’t include any comments from council members or the public.