Sacramento’s city manager may not get a pay raise this year after public disappointment. The Sacramento City Council initially approved a $20,000 pay raise for Howard Chan during a special meeting in December. However, state law requires a vote on such a matter to be done in a public meeting to allow the community the opportunity to comment.Several members of the council apologized Tuesday for the error and the December vote.”To the community, you are right. We should not have heard this prior to the new year, in the rush of the holidays, in the late hour and so, just want to say that you’re right,” said Katrina Talamantes, the council member representing District 3. “We need to do better.”Data from the State Controller’s Office shows Chan is one of the highest-paid city managers in California. The raise would have brought Chan’s salary up from $400,000 to $420,000.During the public comment portion of the discussion, roughly a dozen people shared their outrage towards the council. Some expressed anger about the vote taking place during the special meeting while others voiced their frustration that the city manager could even be paid more than he already is. “I owe the community an apology for allowing the matter to be heard at the holiday period of time when it was a violation of the Brown Act,” Mayor Darrell Steinberg said. “Ignorance of the law is no defense.”| READ MORE | Initial vote to raise pay of Sac city manager violates state law, will have to be redoneSteinberg said he hoped Tuesday marked the start of “making it right” and said that while he had previously supported Chan’s raises over his tenure, this time he did not. “I’m not comfortable formalizing this cash — this additional cash. It’s too much in light of his current compensation and in light of the situation that the city finds itself in, in terms of the deficit. It’s the wrong appearance,” Steinberg said.District 6 City Council Member Eric Guerra proposed an amendment to the agenda item pertaining to the raise. He suggested postponing further discussion about compensation for Chan and beginning the process of changing the council policy that allows the city manager to independently put his compensation on the council agenda. “The council is the only elected body and whether it’s an actual or even perceived conflict of interest, this is exactly why we’re making a change so a city manager can no longer put their executive compensation on the agenda,” Guerra said.Guerra told KCRA 3 that the discussion about raising Chan’s salary was tabled “indefinitely” and that he did not support any negotiations about compensation until the policy had been amended to only allow the council to put the matter up for debate.“Clearly, the agenda-izing of executive compensation in December was an error on everyone’s part. Not only the executive team but also the city council for not seeing that error,” Guerra said. “That is exactly why we’re making these changes to not only reject and table the request but also change the rules in the future.”Chan’s salary when he took the city manager position in 2017 was $282,000. His salary was raised to just over $400,000 after city council members approved the raise in 2022.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app.
Sacramento’s city manager may not get a pay raise this year after public disappointment.
The Sacramento City Council initially approved a $20,000 pay raise for Howard Chan during a special meeting in December. However, state law requires a vote on such a matter to be done in a public meeting to allow the community the opportunity to comment.
Several members of the council apologized Tuesday for the error and the December vote.
“To the community, you are right. We should not have heard this prior to the new year, in the rush of the holidays, in the late hour and so, just want to say that you’re right,” said Katrina Talamantes, the council member representing District 3. “We need to do better.”
Data from the State Controller’s Office shows Chan is one of the highest-paid city managers in California. The raise would have brought Chan’s salary up from $400,000 to $420,000.
During the public comment portion of the discussion, roughly a dozen people shared their outrage towards the council. Some expressed anger about the vote taking place during the special meeting while others voiced their frustration that the city manager could even be paid more than he already is.
“I owe the community an apology for allowing the matter to be heard at the holiday period of time when it was a violation of the Brown Act,” Mayor Darrell Steinberg said. “Ignorance of the law is no defense.”
| READ MORE | Initial vote to raise pay of Sac city manager violates state law, will have to be redone
Steinberg said he hoped Tuesday marked the start of “making it right” and said that while he had previously supported Chan’s raises over his tenure, this time he did not.
“I’m not comfortable formalizing this cash — this additional cash. It’s too much in light of his current compensation and in light of the situation that the city finds itself in, in terms of the deficit. It’s the wrong appearance,” Steinberg said.
District 6 City Council Member Eric Guerra proposed an amendment to the agenda item pertaining to the raise. He suggested postponing further discussion about compensation for Chan and beginning the process of changing the council policy that allows the city manager to independently put his compensation on the council agenda.
“The council is the only elected body and whether it’s an actual or even perceived conflict of interest, this is exactly why we’re making a change so a city manager can no longer put their executive compensation on the agenda,” Guerra said.
Guerra told KCRA 3 that the discussion about raising Chan’s salary was tabled “indefinitely” and that he did not support any negotiations about compensation until the policy had been amended to only allow the council to put the matter up for debate.
“Clearly, the agenda-izing of executive compensation in December was an error on everyone’s part. Not only the executive team but also the city council for not seeing that error,” Guerra said. “That is exactly why we’re making these changes to not only reject and table the request but also change the rules in the future.”
Chan’s salary when he took the city manager position in 2017 was $282,000. His salary was raised to just over $400,000 after city council members approved the raise in 2022.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app.
