LA HABRA HEIGHTS : City Manager Resigns to Take La Puente Post

City Manager Joe Perez is departing Monday after less than three months in office to become assistant city manager of La Puente.

The move will mean a reduction in pay, but Perez said he wants to work for a larger city and spend more time with his family. Perez, who starts his new job Tuesday, will be paid $52,000 a year, down from his current salary of $58,300.

Lyle W. Alberg, who served as interim city manager in Indian Wells from July, 1992, to February, 1993, was appointed interim city manager Monday evening.

Perez was named interim city manager by the council Aug. 11 and was appointed permanently Sept. 8. He succeeded Noelia Chapa, who quit after three years to become Pomona’s finance director.

Perez said he is interested in working with La Puente’s business and retail community, an experience that was largely unavailable to him in the residential enclave of La Habra Heights. “There’s a wider range of issues that I will be exposed to, and that is a real plus in terms of my career advancement,” he said.