By Elizabeth Troutman |

The city of Maricopa appointed a new city manager with an annual salary of $242,000 and a $650,000 house included in the package. 

Ben Bitter’s package also includes a $400 monthly stipend for personal vehicle use and a $100 monthly cell phone allowance. He is now the city’s highest paid employee ever. 

Bitter will start July 1. 

On April 16, the city council approved the purchase of a house for Bitter valued up to $650,000, which he will repay at a half-percent interest rate over 30 years, significantly below current market rates. 

Bitter is receiving an $83,700 raise over his current salary and $20,000 more than outgoing City Manager Rick Horst’s pay.

Some residents are upset about the amount of taxpayer dollars dealt to Bitter. 

Bitter’s credentials include serving as the city’s capital improvement plan and engineering director in 2021. Since 2022, he has served as deputy city manager and chief product officer.

But his background is riddled with controversy. During his time as city manager in Ashland, Kentucky, the City Commission voted 3-2 to fire him, marking the first such dismissal in decades. 

The commissioners accused him of several policy violations, including issuing a $7,000 check as advanced vacation pay to a city employee against city policy and failing to investigate over $200,000 missing from city expenditures on tires. 

Bitter said he was “humbled” by his appointment.

“I am deeply humbled by the trust and faith that the City Council has placed in me to fill this position,” Bitter said in a statement. “Following on the heels of such a great leader and mentor is a daunting task, one which I do not take lightly.”

Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.