After five years with Lodi, City Manager Blair King will leave to take a job in Coronado.
Described as a walking encyclopedia of city knowledge, King was praised by most of the City Council for his financial skills in managing the city.
“He is very creative, and obviously that was deeply needed and hopefully deeply appreciated by the community during these trying financial times,” Councilman Bob Johnson said.
The Coronado City Council announced it hired King at a special meeting Thursday afternoon. Coronado is located on a peninsula near San Diego with a population of roughly 24,000.
King said Coronado was on a short list of cities where he would like to work.
“When I project myself into the future, where I would retire would be a world-class resort city,” King said.
His salary will be $193,000, plus benefits; he is making $160,000 in Lodi.
Because the city would like King to live in Coronado and the property values are higher there, it is also offering a $1.5 million loan to help him find housing. The interest rate will be lower than the average market rate, and the loan balance will be due six months after King leaves Coronado.
Before coming to Lodi, King had a decade of city manager experience in three other cities: Half Moon Bay, where he worked from 1997-2001; Imperial Beach, which is northeast of Coronado, from 1993-96; and Soledad, from 1991-93.
King said the main difference between Coronado and the city of Lodi is it has a general fund reserve of about $37 million and is more financially stable.
Read the entire Lodi News-Sentinel article here.
Visit the City of Coronado’s Page for Blair King.
