Rye City Manager Brian Shea has agreed to terms that will pay him $260,000 annually, making him one of the highest-paid municipal administrators in Westchester County.
Promoted to the permanent position overseeing governmental operations at the start of the year, Shea’s agreement with the city wasn’t finalized until Jan. 28.
The Record obtained Shea’s contract after filing a request under the state’s freedom of information law.
The deal with the city includes a city-provided, take-home car — Shea lives in Port Chester — and the city will foot the bill for professional dues, subscriptions, travel, lodging, and meals for conferences and meetings he needs to attend. He also gets credit for past leave as assistant and interim city manager, plus 20 vacation, 10 sick, and five personal days a year. The compensation makes the 38-year-old the highest-paid employee in the city.
Additionally, the City Council will review Shea’s compensation each year before adopting the city budget in December to consider a salary increase, according to the letter. His employment terms run through Dec. 31, 2030.
Mayor Josh Nathan called Shea “a steady hand” during the roughly nine-month period last year when he served as interim city manager and said his first 60 days in the top job have been “excellent.”
“Tested early with two snowstorms, the Rye community has had an immediate opportunity to see his leadership, communications, and sound judgment at work,” the mayor said. “More good work to come, no doubt.”
Shea’s jump in pay is “commensurate with the responsibilities and expectations of this position, his experience and qualifications,” Nathan told The Record.
He added that his new salary is “within budget and market” based on guidance the council received during the search process.
Shea declined comment.
Shea’s annual income places him at the top of the charts among municipal managers across Westchester, trailing only New Rochelle City Manager Wilfredo Melendez ($279,443) and Rye Brook Village Administrator Christopher Bradbury ($268,143), based on 2025 salaries from SeeThroughNY.
As of the 2020 census, Melendez runs the day-to-day operations of a city of more than 86,000 residents, while Bradbury, who has steered the village since 2000, runs a village with a population of 10,000.
Rye’s population as of the 2020 census was 16,600.
Other top-paid administrators across the county earn less than Shea, including Tarrytown Village Administrator Richard Slingerland ($241,412), Bronxville Village Administrator James Palmer ($235,641), Mamaroneck Town Administrator Meredith Robson ($228,255), and Ossining Village Manager Karen D’Attore ($225,199), according to SeeThroughNY.
Shea also collects $45,000 more in income than did his predecessor, Greg Usry, who stepped down in March 2025 after more than five years on the job. Usry earned $215,000 in his final year, according to city payroll records.
Shea was hired as Usry’s assistant city manager in February 2022 at a salary of $150,000, according to city records. When he agreed to take on the interim city manager position following Usry’s retirement, the city council bumped him up to a prorated salary of $213,900.
Meanwhile, in February 2026, John Sullivan was promoted to the assistant city manager position. The city planned to spend at least $155,000 in salary on the hiring, according to the job posting on the city website.
Prior to joining Rye, Shea served as the city of Albany’s chief of operations. He also was previously the chief of staff to Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan and upstate director of intergovernmental affairs for the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services.
