Márquez City Manager Contract Approved by City Council

The City Council unanimously voted to approve Miguel Márquez City Manager contract.

Márquez will start with the City on Aug. 29 according to an employment agreement contained in Monday’s City Council agreement.

“Congratulations and thank you for accepting the challenge,” said Mayor Victor Gordo. “Your challenges to Pasadena are yet to come. But you recognize what a special place Pasadena is.”

Márquez will make $330,000 annually.

“I will do my level best to be a good steward for all that it means to be City Manager in the city of Pasadena,” Márquez said.

Márquez will receive $600 in a monthly vehicle allowance and $30,000 in relocation expenses and $2,000 in housing assistance if he takes a permanent residency in Pasadena.

He will also receive full benefits and life insurance.

The total annual cost including salary, retirement contributions and benefits of the agreement is estimated to be $525,000.

Márquez was formally introduced to the community during the City Council meeting and stayed for part of the meeting before leaving to catch a flight back to Northern California.

Gordo told the press on Monday that 10 strong candidates were interviewed as part of the process.

After an extensive search process, which included the recruitment of candidates, a review of candidate materials and select interviews with members of the City Council.

Pasadena has a council-city manager type of government, which calls for the elected City Council to serve as the city’s primary legislative body and to appoint a city manager to oversee day-to-day municipal operations, draft a budget, implement and enforce the council’s policy and legislative initiatives, and oversee 14 of the 16 city departments.

Márquez was the first Latino justice to be confirmed to the Sixth District Court of Appeals.

Márquez’s parents immigrated to the United States from México with only a limited amount of formal education.

Spanish was his first language as a child.

The city has been searching for a new city manager since Steve Mermell retired in December.

“After holding two rounds of interviews with a group of well qualified, experienced candidates, Miguel Márquez emerged as the best choice,” according to a city staff report.

Márquez currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer of Santa Clara County. He is responsible for all operations of the County, the largest in northern California, with nearly two million residents, 22,000 full-time employees, and an annual operating budget in excess of $11 billion.