Santee hires a new city manager after a months-long search

Santee has a new city manager to oversee day-to-day operations in the East County municipality.

Council members voted unanimously Wednesday to hire Wendy Kaserman, 49, who is currently Poway’s assistant city manager.

Kaserman’s first day is supposed to be Oct. 23. However, Santee Mayor John Minto noted that he had recently seen Kaserman hard at work in the office.

“She’s already got a bunch of files out, going through things and catching up,” the mayor said from the dais. Then he joked, “Forget that 290, she’s doing it for free!”

Kaserman’s base salary will be $290,000.

Other council members were similarly complimentary. “We’re very excited to have you here,” said Laura Koval. Dustin Trotter added that Kaserman was the “best candidate we had available for the city.”

The vote follows a months-long search for a leader to replace Marlene Best, Santee’s longtime city manager who left unexpectedly in April. Best’s severance agreement made vague references to some sort of “dispute,” but details have so far been scarce.

Kaserman earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Arizona State University and a master’s in public administration from the University of Arizona, officials have said. She worked for the Arizona town of Queen Creek and was an assistant to the city manager in San Marcos before taking a job in 2016 as Poway’s administrative services director, which oversaw several offices, including human resources.

Kaserman’s employment agreement also comes with yearly benefits such as 25 days of vacation, 80 hours of administrative leave, a $1,200 technology allowance, $6,000 for auto insurance, a $20,000 employer contribution to a deferred compensation plan and a 12-month severance package in case Kaserman is ever fired “without cause.”

For the record: This story has been updated to clarify that human resources staffers in the city of Poway are part of a larger department.