Menifee selects Calexico administrator as new city manager

Ending a months-long search process, the City of Menifee has hired Calexico City Manager Armando Villa as its new city manager, effective Dec. 18.

Menifee Mayor Neil Winter made the announcement during Wednesday night's City Council meeting. Villa, 52, will take over next month from Ron Bradley, who has served as the city's interim city manager since shortly after Rob Johnson departed nearly a year ago.

"This was a great effort by the entire City Council," Winter said about the search process. "It was a unanimous decision. We now have a new city manager -- and we're going to keep him."

Villa will become Menifee's sixth city manager in nine years since the city was incorporated in 2008. Winter said City Council members went through an exhaustive process to eliminate a field of 45 applicants down to 10, then three finalists, and finally an administrator they believe can bring some stability to the job.

"Armando comes to us with a great resume," Winter said. "Ron has done a wonderful job in helping us find a new city manager. We all learned a great deal during this process."

Villa is a 1983 graduate of Calexico High School who served as that city's assistant city manager and director of community development from 2006-10. He also served as assistant county executive officer and director of planning and development services for the County of Imperial. He also has public service experience locally, however.

Villa began his career with the City of Lake Elsinore in 1991. He was also community development director for the City of Temecula from 2013-15. He holds a BS degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Cal Poly Pomona, a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Cal State San Bernardino and a Certificate in Economic Development from Cal State Fresno.

Villa's base salary with the City of Calexico is $169,000, according to City of Calexico financial documents posted on the city's website. Terms of his contract with the City of Menifee were not released Wednesday night.

Johnson's salary, including benefits, at the time of his departure in December 2016 was $261,000, according to city documents. Through an amendment in his last signed contract with the City of Menifee, Johnson received a severance package of $235,491. In total, the City of Menifee has paid out more than $520,000 in severance packages to three city managers: George Wentz, Bill Rawlings and Johnson.

At the time of Johnson's departure, Winter -- who had just taken over as mayor -- said it would be important for the City to avoid such contract clauses with future city managers.

Villa will have a lot on his plate the moment he arrives. Working from a field of candidates screened by Bradley and the existing staff, Villa will have to select a new community services director and finance director. Robert Lennox and Bruce Foltz resigned from those positions on the same day after meetings with Bradley in late September.