New Sacramento city manager's contract tops $300,000 in era of cuts
By Ryan Lillis
rlillis@sacbee.com
rlillis@sacbee.com
Published: Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2011 - 12:00 am | Page 1A
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Newly appointed Sacramento City Manager John Shirey will make tens of thousands of dollars more than the previous two full-time managers under a contract expected to be approved by the City Council tonight.
Shirey, whose first day as the city's top executive is scheduled for Sept. 1, will receive $305,940 in salary, benefits and allowances, city officials said. His base salary of $258,000 is higher than that of any other current city manager in the region and is the highest salary ever granted to a Sacramento city employee.
In a first for a Sacramento city manager, Shirey will be working under a contract. The three-year deal will grant him a six-month severance package should he be fired by the City Council without cause.
The City Council's offer to Shirey comes just weeks after it filled a $39 million budget deficit by making cutbacks that included laying off 42 police officers.
City officials and some members of the City Council said Shirey is worth it because of his extensive experience, both as a big-city manager and a redevelopment expert. Shirey is the first Sacramento city manager in recent history with previous experience as a city manager. He was chosen after a national search that produced 30 applicants.
He is the executive director of the California Redevelopment Association and was the city manager of Cincinnati for eight years.
"It's a fair package for a professional city manager, for the capital of California and the largest city in the region," Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy said. "We need someone who needs no training, who can just come in and start putting the city in the right direction."
Shirey said that "people should know that I'm going to earn every dollar and more."
"I'm always expecting something to be said any time a public official's salary and compensation is there in the public venue for review," he said. "My salary is very fair compared to my peers up and down the state. If anything, it's under market."
Two dozen city managers in California earned more in 2009 than what Shirey will make, according to the most recent records compiled by the state controller's office.
Shirey's total annual compensation is roughly $35,000 more than what former interim Sacramento City Manager Gus Vina earned. Vina stepped down in April after serving for 13 months.
It's $49,000 more than what former City Manager Ray Kerridge earned before he resigned last year.
Some Sacramento council members, including Mayor Kevin Johnson and Councilwoman Angelique Ashby, questioned whether this is the right time to boost the city manager's pay.
"John deserves our full support as he prepares to become city manager, but today's news is a tough pill to swallow for our community," Johnson said in an email. "It's hard to justify salary raises and contract guarantees when we're cutting cops, closing fire stations, and watching our economy enter a free fall. I'll respect the will of the Council, but understand why this hiring process continues to frustrate the public."
Ashby said she supported hiring Shirey but has "reservations about his contract."
"To bring the top person on now with such a large increase feels counterintuitive to the other (budget) decisions that we've made," she said.
The increase in pay comes during a cycle of employee pay cuts, layoffs and service reductions at City Hall. It also comes as the city seeks salary concessions from employee groups; over the weekend, members of the city firefighters union voted to delay a raise promised to them next year and to begin contributing to their pensions.
"The guy might be the greatest thing since sliced bread, but to me, that's a direct slap in the face to my members," said Jaymes Butler, head of the firefighters union. "It's disappointing. It's very disappointing."
In his negotiations with the city, Shirey also asked for and received a provision in his contract granting him a six-month severance should he quit within 90 days of Sacramento adopting a "strong mayor" form of government.
"If the duties of city manager are significantly diminished by a change in the form of government, well, that's not the job I signed up for," Shirey said, explaining why he wanted the language.
Shirey has been critical of strong-mayor governments, which transfer many of the duties currently held by the city manager to the mayor. Johnson is expected to resurrect his campaign to adopt a strong-mayor government next year.
Shirey's compensation package includes a $500 monthly automobile allowance, $1,200 a month in medical benefits and a city contribution of $15,000 a year into a 457(b) retirement plan.
Shirey will offset some of those costs by contributing 7 percent of his salary into his CalPERS retirement fund – a first for a Sacramento city manager. That pension contribution will amount to $18,000 a year.
In 2009, he made $238,000 in base salary at the redevelopment association. His total compensation was $310,000, records show.
Interim City Manager Bill Edgar, who served as the city's lead negotiator with Shirey, said the compensation package was fair. Edgar has served the city on a part-time basis since April.
"He is a very experienced, well-known and talented city manager," Edgar said. "(The City Council) wanted an experienced manager and somebody who had led a big city.
"It's what you have to pay these days," he said.
In a first for a Sacramento city manager, Shirey will be working under a contract. The three-year deal will grant him a six-month severance package should he be fired by the City Council without cause.
The City Council's offer to Shirey comes just weeks after it filled a $39 million budget deficit by making cutbacks that included laying off 42 police officers.
City officials and some members of the City Council said Shirey is worth it because of his extensive experience, both as a big-city manager and a redevelopment expert. Shirey is the first Sacramento city manager in recent history with previous experience as a city manager. He was chosen after a national search that produced 30 applicants.
He is the executive director of the California Redevelopment Association and was the city manager of Cincinnati for eight years.
"It's a fair package for a professional city manager, for the capital of California and the largest city in the region," Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy said. "We need someone who needs no training, who can just come in and start putting the city in the right direction."
Shirey said that "people should know that I'm going to earn every dollar and more."
"I'm always expecting something to be said any time a public official's salary and compensation is there in the public venue for review," he said. "My salary is very fair compared to my peers up and down the state. If anything, it's under market."
Two dozen city managers in California earned more in 2009 than what Shirey will make, according to the most recent records compiled by the state controller's office.
Shirey's total annual compensation is roughly $35,000 more than what former interim Sacramento City Manager Gus Vina earned. Vina stepped down in April after serving for 13 months.
It's $49,000 more than what former City Manager Ray Kerridge earned before he resigned last year.
Some Sacramento council members, including Mayor Kevin Johnson and Councilwoman Angelique Ashby, questioned whether this is the right time to boost the city manager's pay.
"John deserves our full support as he prepares to become city manager, but today's news is a tough pill to swallow for our community," Johnson said in an email. "It's hard to justify salary raises and contract guarantees when we're cutting cops, closing fire stations, and watching our economy enter a free fall. I'll respect the will of the Council, but understand why this hiring process continues to frustrate the public."
Ashby said she supported hiring Shirey but has "reservations about his contract."
"To bring the top person on now with such a large increase feels counterintuitive to the other (budget) decisions that we've made," she said.
The increase in pay comes during a cycle of employee pay cuts, layoffs and service reductions at City Hall. It also comes as the city seeks salary concessions from employee groups; over the weekend, members of the city firefighters union voted to delay a raise promised to them next year and to begin contributing to their pensions.
"The guy might be the greatest thing since sliced bread, but to me, that's a direct slap in the face to my members," said Jaymes Butler, head of the firefighters union. "It's disappointing. It's very disappointing."
In his negotiations with the city, Shirey also asked for and received a provision in his contract granting him a six-month severance should he quit within 90 days of Sacramento adopting a "strong mayor" form of government.
"If the duties of city manager are significantly diminished by a change in the form of government, well, that's not the job I signed up for," Shirey said, explaining why he wanted the language.
Shirey has been critical of strong-mayor governments, which transfer many of the duties currently held by the city manager to the mayor. Johnson is expected to resurrect his campaign to adopt a strong-mayor government next year.
Shirey's compensation package includes a $500 monthly automobile allowance, $1,200 a month in medical benefits and a city contribution of $15,000 a year into a 457(b) retirement plan.
Shirey will offset some of those costs by contributing 7 percent of his salary into his CalPERS retirement fund – a first for a Sacramento city manager. That pension contribution will amount to $18,000 a year.
In 2009, he made $238,000 in base salary at the redevelopment association. His total compensation was $310,000, records show.
Interim City Manager Bill Edgar, who served as the city's lead negotiator with Shirey, said the compensation package was fair. Edgar has served the city on a part-time basis since April.
"He is a very experienced, well-known and talented city manager," Edgar said. "(The City Council) wanted an experienced manager and somebody who had led a big city.
"It's what you have to pay these days," he said.
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