SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – City Manager Joe Irvin has been lured away from South Lake Tahoe and will become the City of Malibu’s next city manager starting March 2, 2026.
Last week, Irvin broke the news to South Lake Tahoe’s city council that his hiring in Southern California was a possibility. On Wednesday, December 17, the Malibu City Council held a special session and regular council meeting to discuss Irvin’s hiring and contract. He was approved unanimously during the meeting, which started at 4:30 p.m.
“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the City of South Lake Tahoe,” said Irvin. “During my tenure as city manager, I have worked hard to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the city government. I have also worked to build strong relationships with the elected officials, city employees and community members. South Lake Tahoe is a special place, and I will always cherish my time spent here.”
Irvin’s contract will include an annual salary of $310,000, as well as a monthly incentive of $4,000 per month if he lives within the Malibu city limits, something Irvin aims to do. He will also receive $5,000 for moving expenses. In October, the South Lake Tahoe City Council gave Irvin a new six-year contract. His base salary was $222,397 with annual cost-of-living increases (the most recent was on Oct. 1 at 1.3 percent).
The Malibu City Council expressed its excitement about Irvin joining them during a period that calls for great leadership, and they approved his contract unanimously.
“We got the best,” they said after looking through over 200 applications for the job.
After starting in May 2020, Irvin managed and led the city through COVID, Caldor, and the recent City Council issues (the mayor’s admitted embezzling from a church and the mayor pro tem’s arrest). He will be arriving in Malibu as they continue to navigate through the devastating 2025 Palisades Fire that burned nearly a third of the community as it whipped along the Pacific Coast Highway, causing widespread destruction along the way. Not only do both cities have a Caltrans-operated highway through their boundaries, but they also work within the regulations of a strong agency – South Lake Tahoe and Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, and Malibu with the Coastal Commission. The two communities also have vacation rental ordinances with strict rules and regulations.
“Over the past five years, since Joe joined the city as our City Manager, he has led our city through some of our most challenging times,” said South Lake Tahoe Mayor Cody Bass. “He also made some great positive changes inside and outside of City Hall. We are going to miss him, but wish him well on his new endeavor.”
The population of Malibu was 10,654 in the 2020 Census, and South Lake Tahoe was 21,300. The coastal mecca in Southern California has a budget much smaller than South Lake Tahoe as well – $110.3 million compared to $297.2 million. Staff size in Malibu is about two-thirds of South Lake Tahoe’s. Malibu’s median income is much higher, and its average population is older.
Irvin speaking before the Malibu Council Wednesday:
