Tacoma’s new city manager will be taking home a paycheck that tops the governor’s, after the City Council on Tuesday approved an employment contract that makes Hyun Kim the city’s permanent top administrator and sets his annual salary at $358,363.20. The move places Kim among the highest-paid municipal executives in Washington and cements his shift from interim city manager, a role he has held since mid‑2025, to full-time leader of Tacoma’s administrative operations.
According to City of Tacoma, the council finalized Kim’s contract at its March 31 meeting, formally defining his duties as chief executive of the city’s administrative branch. The city notes his prior work as deputy city manager for internal services and as city manager of Fife, and says he will oversee enterprise departments and the city’s day-to-day operations.
Contract Terms and Pay Range
The job’s posted salary range ran from $309,566 to $376,500, and the council set Kim’s pay near the top of that band, as reported by The News Tribune. The paper reports that Kim’s $358,363.20 salary comes in roughly $50,000 higher than the $309,566 paid to his predecessor, Elizabeth Pauli.
How It Compares to the Governor's Pay
Kim’s salary will also outpace the state’s chief executive. The Washington Citizens’ Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials set the governor’s pay at $218,744 for the 2025–26 period and approved a raise to $234,275 effective July 1, 2026, according to the Washington Citizens’ Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials. That means Kim’s pay will exceed the governor’s by more than $120,000 once that raise kicks in.
What Officials Said
At the council meeting, Kim told members, “I look forward to earning it every day with this council and this community,” according to The News Tribune. Mayor Anders Ibsen said he was “really excited to get the ball rolling on this, finalize this contract and continue our work together,” the paper reported.
Budget Context and City Size
The city manager will oversee a biennial budget of about $4.7 billion and a workforce of more than 4,000 employees, details the city includes in its materials, which helps explain why Tacoma pays top administrative staff at the municipal scale it does, per City of Tacoma. The appointment closes the recruitment process and puts a permanent leader in place as the council and staff begin the next budget and project cycles.
Council members said they expect Kim to focus on operational stability, infrastructure delivery and economic vitality in the months ahead. Residents and local watchdog groups will likely be watching whether the higher pay translates into measurable changes in service and financial performance.
