BREAKING: Ikani Taumoepeau will replace Ifo Pili as Las Cruces city manager
After an internal process that concluded with three interviews on Wednesday, Las Cruces City Council selected Assistant City Manager Ikani Taumoepeau as its next city manager.
If Taumoepeau accepts the City Council's offer, he will replace Ifo Pili, who resigned in February to take a position in West Valley City, Utah.
“I am honored to be chosen as Las Cruces city manager," Taumoepeau said in a statement. "I have had the privilege to work with City Council, City staff, and the community in the last several years and am proud of the work we have done so far. I look forward to continuing to implement the vision of City Council and make Las Cruces the community that we all want to live and thrive in."
City Council is expected to approve Taumoepeau's contract at its April 1 meeting. While the details of the contract will be negotiated, his salary will fall between $179,000 and $262,000, according to the job posting. Pili made an annual salary of $216,000.
Thursday's announcement ended what was a streamlined process when compared to Pili's arrival in 2020. City Council met in closed session on Monday to consider nine original internal applicants and narrow it to three finalists - Taumoepeau, Assistant City Manager Sonya Delgado and Director of Public Works David Sedillo. All three finalists interviewed on Wednesday at City Hall.
Pili was selected after a process that involved a search firm and 18 months without a city manager while William Studer and David Maestas served as interim city managers.
Taumoepeau began serving as assistant city manager in January 2020. He followed Pili to Las Cruces from Eagle Mountain, Utah, where he was also assistant to the city manager under Pili. Taumoepeau has also served as Clayton, California's city manager, assistant city manager in Santa Paula, California and deputy city manager in Morro Bay, California.
According to a release announcing his hire, Taumoepeau has overseen several Las Cruces projects, including the implementation of GO Bond Parks Improvements, moved RoadRUNNER Transit to zero-fare, rolled out a new Visit Las Cruces brand campaign, and offered the City’s first airshow at Las Cruces International Airport.
Taumoepeau takes the reins during a critical time for the city both in the near future and the long term. The city in the midst of its budget process for Fiscal Year 25. The Las Cruces Police Department recently lost Officer Jonah Hernandez, who was killed in the line of duty in February. Local business leaders have become increasingly frustrated and vocal with instances of trespassing. Two LCPD officers face criminal charges for their involvement in fatal officer involved shootings.
"On my part, (the hiring process) needed to be urgent," Mayor Pro Tem Johana Bencomo told the Sun-News on Tuesday. "There are so many fork in the road moment things happening."
Pili's tenure officially comes to an end on March 31. Pili urged the City to pursue internal applicants due to the experience held by Taumoepeau, along with members of his executive team and numerous department heads.
“The decision was not easy, as both finalists Sonya Delgado and David Sedillo are also very strong leaders,” Las Cruces Mayor Eric Enriquez said in a statement. “It is a testament to the leadership in this organization that we had the difficult task of choosing between so many qualified candidates.”
Jason Groves can be reached at 575-541-5459 or jgroves@lcsun-news.com. Follow him on X @jpgroves.
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: City Council names Ikani Taumoepeau as new city manager for Las Cruces