Laguna Woods council approves raise for city manager after salary study

Laguna Woods city council unanimously approved Aug. 20 an amendment to City Manager Christopher Macon’s employment agreement that raises his base annual salary and updates the city’s compensation schedule and budget.

Council members said the raise followed a review prompted by the manager’s recent performance evaluation and an internal survey of South Orange County city manager compensation. Staff told the council Macon’s pay lagged most neighboring jurisdictions despite his tenure; the council voted to raise the base pay from $208,396.26 to $225,667.96 per year and to adopt related budget amendments.

Council adopted three related actions: (1) approval of Amendment No. 1 to the city manager employment agreement; (2) repeal and replacement of the compensation schedule (repealing Resolution 25‑23 and adopting a new compensation resolution that references California Government Code section 3511.1 for local agency executives); and (3) amendments to the fiscal‑year 2025–27 budget to fund the change.

Council members described the increase as necessary to bring compensation into line with regional peers and avoid future recruitment cost shocks. No public speakers addressed the item during the public comment period. The city manager recused himself from presenting because state law requires council disclosure when changing an executive’s compensation; the city manager remained in the room for the vote.

Staff will implement the salary change consistent with the amended agreement and update payroll and budget records.