After several months of unexpected turnover in the city manager’s position, National City Council members decided Tuesday to permanently fill the role from within City Hall.
Officials unanimously approved a 2.5-year contract with Benjamin Martinez, who had been serving in the role on an interim basis since August.
He thanked the City Council for the opportunity.
“I really ask you to join me in a solemn and productive way of doing business with the city,” he said. “I’m going to give it my all/ I’m gonna expect my executive team to give it their all.”
Martinez will be paid an annual base salary of $255,719, plus benefits, including a yearly vehicle allowance of $9,000. The city is also providing him with a monthly housing allowance of $1,200. His contract includes a 6 percent raise in February and it expires June 30, 2026.
The position has been filled on an interim basis since former City Manager Brad Raulston and the city agreed to part ways in May.
Officials had selected the late Armando Vergara as the replacement, but he died of natural causes in late June. Deputy City Manager Scott Huth was then named acting city manager before Martinez was appointed.
Martinez, a Bonita native, first joined the city in 1996, working for the now-dissolved Community Development Commission, which was a redevelopment, housing authority and economic development agency. The city re-hired him a year ago as manager of Neighborhood Services. He then stepped in as acting director of Community Development, where he oversaw the Building, Planning and Neighborhood Services divisions. Vergara previously held that position before moving to the City Manager’s Office.
