Azusa is poised to give City Manager Fran Delach a 5 percent raise and a 5 percent bonus, saying the city recently met its goals, such as bringing a Target to the city.
I think most would agree that Delach is doing a good job in Azusa, which is plugging along with development plans.
But giving pay raises during bad times sometimes spells trouble for City Councils.
Case in point: Pico Rivera.
After the Pico Rivera City Council gave then-City Manager Dennis Courtemarche a $40,000 raise in 2004, outraged voters elected a new council majority. The new council fired Courtemarche in 2005.
The 2004 raise brought Courtemarche’s salary to $200,000.
Delach’s raise would bring his salary to about $212,000, according city documents.
Azusa has about 45,000 residents. Pico Rivera has about 65,000.

Here’s an early version of the story

AZUSA – City Manager Fran Delach is set to get a raise and bonus at tonight’s City Council meeting, according to city documents.

In a report prepared for tonight’s meeting, a 5-percent raise and a 5-percent bonus are both recommended for approval for Delach who has been working for the city since June 2005.

The raise was at the direction of the council following positive evaluation’s for Delach, according to documents.

The raise will bump Delach’s salary to $212,483, plus the one time 5-percent bonus that should amount to about $10,000, according to city documents.

The report credits Delach for meeting city goals, including his work to bring a Target – now in construction – to Azusa and helping maintain a balanced budget without cutting staff, according to documents.

The raise and new contract with Delach will be retroactive to June 2009.