Baker City Council approves $20,000 bonus for city manager
Baker City gave Barry Murphy a $20,000 bonus after a year that avoided police and fire cuts. The payout lands as residents still face fee increases, water worries and budget pressure.
The Baker City Council gave City Manager Barry Murphy a $20,000 bonus after reviewing his performance over the past year. Baker City continues to face budget pressure, utility questions and basic service issues.
Murphy is Baker City's city manager. In that role, he helps steer water, sewer, public works, police and fire operations, along with the city’s broader financial strategy.
The council approved his contract Jan. 2, 2024, after selecting him from three candidates in December 2023. When he took the job, Murphy said he wanted to repay the $495,000 that had been transferred from the street maintenance fund to the general fund to avoid layoffs in police and fire.
By May 2024, Murphy told the Baker City Budget Board that the city’s financial situation had improved and the proposed budget would not require cuts to police or fire departments. The council followed that with a public safety fee approved May 14, 2024, set at $10 a month for residential customers and $20 a month for commercial customers and billed on water and sewer statements. On April 23, 2024, it also approved a 4.3% increase in water and sewer rates for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2024.
In March 2024, the council agreed to cut water and sewer connection fees by 50% for Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative’s lineman school project. In September 2024, council members unanimously approved two raises for Murphy, one retroactive to July 1, 2024, and another effective Jan. 1, 2025.
In 2026, councilors debated splash pad hours in Central Park. Residents used slightly less water through the first 16 days of June, despite hot-weather concerns and drought conditions.
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