Jenny Haruyama Named Eugene City Manager, Will Start April 15 at $306,000

Jenny Haruyama will take over as Eugene city manager on April 15 under a contract that sets her base salary at $306,000, a package the City Council approved unanimously at its Feb. 9 meeting. The hiring places an experienced municipal manager in charge of more than 1,500 city employees and a $1.9 billion two-year budget, shifting day-to-day leadership of city operations at a moment of active council attention to policy priorities and public safety.

The council vote followed a national search that produced three finalists and culminated in Haruyama’s selection on Jan. 15. The employment agreement was posted to the city website the Friday before the Feb. 9 meeting, and the contract explicitly includes a $500 monthly travel allowance. The posted recruitment materials set the City Manager salary range at "$238,076.80 to $319,217.60 annually," and list benefits including Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance; Retirement; Holidays; Vacation and Sick Leave. The City determines starting pay within that range based on experience and qualifications consistent with the Oregon Equal Pay Act.

Councilor Alan Zelenka told the meeting audience the hire deserved recognition. "This hiring, 'should be celebrated,'" Councilor Alan Zelenka said at the meeting, adding Haruyama will "make a great city manager." Haruyama addressed fiscal tradeoffs in remarks carried by local radio: "There is no secret sauce or solution. It's called compromise and it's called prioritization," said Haruyama. "And it's choosing, based on the community's input, what they are willing to pay for and what comes at the priority. And I think that is the hardest conversation that we're going to have here."

Haruyama arrives from Beaverton, where she served four years as city manager overseeing 632 full-time employees and a roughly $500 million annual budget. Local reporting notes the Eugene salary is about $13,000 higher than predecessor Sarah Medary's $293,000 and about $34,000 higher than Haruyama's prior Beaverton pay, placing the new hire toward the top of Eugene's advertised range.

Several administrative details remain to be clarified from the posted agreement and city communications. A Register-Guard excerpt references a truncated "$19,000" figure whose purpose is not specified in the available copy. Statements also conflict on which council leader held negotiation authority: some materials say Council President Lyndsie Leech and Vice President Eliza Kashinsky handled negotiations and that signatures from Haruyama and Council President Lyndsie Leech are required, while a separate city media release referenced Council President Greg Evans as authorized to handle negotiations. The full posted contract and council packet will resolve these inconsistencies and show any additional allowances, severance terms, evaluation metrics, and signature authorities.

For Eugene residents the appointment signals continuity in professional city management but also a period of transition: Haruyama will assume leadership of large departmental staffs and ongoing budget and policy debates. Watch the posted employment agreement and upcoming council meeting agendas for the detailed terms and for how City Council and Jenny Haruyama will address the budget priorities she identified.