Manuel Cid, Glendale’s current police chief, will take over the reins of Anaheim’s police department – one of Orange County’s largest law enforcement agencies – at the end of the year.

He’s expected to make over $436,000 a year in base pay and additional compensation. 

It’s about $69,000 more than what outgoing Police Chief Rick Armendariz made this year in base salary and roughly $50,000 more than what his future boss, City Manager Jim Vanderpool, made this year in base salary, according to the city’s management salary report.

Both Armendariz and Vanderpool’s contracts do not include a section outlining additional compensation like Cid’s, but both receive other benefits.

Cid’s base salary is $389,000 but he will also receive roughly $47,000 more in additional compensation annually for holding certain credentials in a city that struggled to tame a $64 million budget deficit this year by using bonds and various one-time funding. 

[Read: Orange County Cities Scramble to Patch Budget Gaps]

On Tuesday, city council members voted unanimously to appoint Cid, the current President of the Los Angeles County Police Chiefs Association, to serve as Anaheim’s next police chief in an at-will capacity, making him the highest paid employee in the city.

Cid said he wants to focus on public safety, building community trust and efficiency.

“Everything we do, there’s got to be a level of accountability, transparency, because it lends itself to that credibility, that is the foundation of everything we do,” he said at Tuesday’s meeting.

“We’re going to work really hard at that and how we engage our community, find ways to build trust, make sure that we’re being as transparent as humanly possible. Understanding that again, it’s going to predicate so much of our success.”

Cid, a Cuban-American, has over two decades of law enforcement experience and has served as the Police Chief in Glendale and the chief in Culver City before that.

The Anaheim Police Department on S. Harbor in Anaheim on May 16, 2025. Credit: ALLIE LEICHTER, Voice of OC

Initially, Cid was supposed to receive $367,000 in base pay and roughly $22,000 in longevity pay for his over 20 years of law enforcement experience, but Anaheim officials voted to move that into his base pay.

Councilwoman Natalie Meeks said she supported moving the longevity pay to Cid’s base salary because that type of compensation is for people who had been in the city for a while.

“I just didn’t want that to misrepresent what we’re paying him and I think we’re paying him what we need to pay him based on the salary survey that you gave. Yes, it’s a lot of money, but it is a big job, and we want to make sure that we have the best police chief that is possible to represent our city,” Meeks said at Tuesday’s meeting

Beyond that, Cid will receive an additional 12% or roughly $47,000 for graduating from the National FBI Academy and receiving an Executive Post Certificate.

Armendariz, who also graduated from the National FBI Academy and also holds a masters degree, does not currently get that additional compensation, according to his contract.

He announced his retirement in July – about two years after he was appointed.

Mayor Ashleigh Aitken was the only one who questioned why the city would pay the additional $47,000 to Cid for his credentials. 

“How did we arrive at the 12% base pay for the post executive certificate pay, as well as the FBI National Academy attendance?” she asked.

Ultimately, she voted in favor of the contract.

“We worked with Chief Cid with his current package he has at the City of Glendale, and then attempted to offer him 10% more to come to the City of Anaheim, and that’s how we arrived at the number,” Vanderpool said at the meeting. 

“There’s a provision in the (Anaheim Police Association) contract where we provide up to a 15% bonus pay for officers that have certain levels of credentials and so we tied it to this contract in that context.”

Vanderpool added the contract means Cid, the candidate he recommended, will make more than him, but added staff is looking to address that next year as well as examine other executive salaries.

City Manager Jim Vanderpool during the Aug. 15, 2023 meeting. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC

Cid will also receive other benefits executive managers in the city receive as well as a vacation Bank of 160 hours and 40 hours of a six sick leave and if he is fired he will get a 12-month severance package.

Cid’s appointment also comes months after widespread deportation raids kicked off in Orange County impacting many Anaheim families with some afraid to go to work or the store.

During his time in Glendale, the city came under scrutiny for a contract with Homeland Security and ICE to use the city’s jails which it ultimately ended.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Cid said that local law enforcement’s role is to ensure public safety.

“Simply stated, our job is to protect public safety here in the City of Anaheim,” he said.

“It is not our job to get involved and to participate and assist any federal entity in conducting immigration enforcement.”

Editor’s note: Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken’s father, Wylie Aitken, chairs Voice of OC’s board of directors. 

Hosam Elattar is a Voice of OC reporter. Contact him at helattar@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @ElattarHosam.

Related