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Council adopts city manager pay adjustment despite calls to wait for investigation results
Summary
Council approved a 3% pay adjustment to restore a contract-mandated 5% differential between the city manager and the police chief, increasing the city manager's base salary to $313,650.40. Public commenters urged postponement while the manager is on administrative leave pending allegations.
The council voted to adopt a staff recommendation to increase the city manager's base salary to $313,650.40 to restore a contractual compaction differential with the police chief.
Theresa Fairbanks, interim human resources director, explained the employment agreement requires a 5% difference between the city manager's base salary and the highest-paid direct report; the recent appointment of the police chief narrowed that gap and triggered the compaction clause. The proposed 3% increase would restore the differential and has an annual fiscal cost of approximately $11,400 for FY26-27 and FY27-28.
A public commenter urged the council to delay the raise while the city manager remains on paid administrative leave amid allegations of misconduct, arguing that the city should not honor a contractual raise before an investigation concludes. "If he's cleared, the adjustment can be made retroactively; if he's not, we've saved ourselves money and a lot of justified public frustration," the commenter said.
Council voted to adopt the resolution and amend the pay schedule as recommended; staff noted the council could still adopt only the acting city manager pay schedule if it wished to separate actions.
Why it matters: The vote implements a contractual pay adjustment that has minor budgetary impact but drew public concern because of the city manager's ongoing administrative leave and an active inquiry raised by residents.
