Henderson would pay new city manager $228,500 a year

Henderson's new city manager, Robert Murnane, could make $228,500 a year — about the same as his predecessor — under a proposed contract released Tuesday.

The City Council is scheduled to vote Aug. 4 on the three-year deal, which Murnane negotiated with the city attorney. Murnane will be sworn in that evening if the contract is approved.

In addition to the base salary, the contract calls for a vehicle allowance of $750 a month, or $9,000 a year; more than $450,000 in city-paid life insurance; and up to $3,000 in moving expenses so Murnane can relocate from Boulder City to Henderson.

The city charter requires senior officials, including the city manager, to live in Henderson.

Murnane also will be able to cash in six weeks of leave a year, a perk other senior officials have taken advantage of recently. He'll get more than nine weeks per year of paid time off.

The contract will expire Dec. 31, 2018. It includes a 1.5 percent yearly raise, meaning Murnane's base salary by the end of the term would be about $239,000.

The city manager, who reports directly to the five-member council, functions as the CEO of Henderson government. He hires department heads and runs day-to-day operations.

Murnane replaces Jacob Snow, who resigned in April after three years in the job and made a base salary of just over $226,000 last year. Snow's contract called for his salary to increase every year at the same rate as the federal Consumer Price Index, meaning his salary now would be about the same as Murnane's.

Bristol Ellington, an assistant city manager, has been interim city manager since Snow left but did not apply for the permanent job.

Murnane, who has been Henderson's public works director since 2001, started with the city in 1996 as an engineer. He also began overseeing parks and recreation last year when those services were merged with public works.

In public interviews for the job, Murnane said he is proud of having overseen the public works-parks and recreation merger, as well as major transportation projects earlier in his career. He said he has plans for a new management structure to make different departments work together better.

Henderson paid a search firm, Ralph Andersen & Associates, about $30,000 to vet city manager applicants and pick finalists. After public interviews with the six finalists, the City Council unanimously voted July 13 to hire Murnane.

Council members said they were impressed by candidates from outside the city, but decided an internal pick was best.

They praised Murnane's experience running multiple departments and said they wanted someone who can "hit the ground running," as Councilman John Marz put it.

Contact Eric Hartley at ehartley@reviewjournal.com or 702-550-9229. Find him on Twitter: @ethartley.