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Council approves merit increases for city manager, city attorney and city clerk amid public criticism about responsiveness
Summary
Council approved merit adjustments for three council‑appointed officers, including a 3% merit increase for the city manager and city attorney and a market‑median adjustment for the city clerk; some public speakers criticized a retroactive raise for the city manager and questioned responsiveness on projects like daylighting and contract oversight.
The Peralta City Council on Dec. 1 approved amendments to employment agreements for three council‑appointed officers, adopting merit increases after closed‑session evaluations.
Vice Mayor Venker moved approval of the contract amendments and the council voted to adopt the changes. The package included 3% merit increases for the city manager and the city attorney; the city clerk received a salary adjustment to bring her compensation to the market median, according to staff. During public comment Helene Grossman and others criticized a retroactive raise referenced in public testimony for the city manager — Ms. Grossman said a $435,000 base salary (cited from public records) would put the city manager among the top statewide earners and called for stronger responsiveness and accountability on city projects. Another commenter asked the council to pursue contract enforcement and liquidated damages where vendors had failed to deliver on public projects.
Council members who spoke in favor of the action said the roles are complex and require competitive compensation to retain qualified executives, and the increases were merit‑based rather than automatic cost‑of‑living adjustments. The council approved the contract amendments on a roll‑call vote.
