City of Sacramento unions and business leaders are lobbying the Sacramento City Council to extend City Manager Howard Chan’s contract, Councilwoman Katie Valenzuela said.
The groups want the council to extend Chan’s contract through the end of 2025, Valenzuela said. It’s currently set to expire Dec. 31.
Chan’s earnings, higher than any other city manager in the state last year , has been a topic of controversy for years. But a raise is not part of the groups’ request, Valenzuela said.
City employees covered by unions often work without a contract. The terms of the expired contract still in place while the next contract is being negotiated. It’s unclear if any of the terms of Chan’s contract would be nullified if it’s expired however.
“The City Manager is in active contract negotiations with Mayor and Council, and it would be inappropriate for him to comment prior to concluding discussions with the Mayor and Council,” Chan’s Chief of Staff Amy Williams said in an email. “In addition, the City Manager has not asked anyone to petition the Mayor and Council on his behalf...”
A letter three city union leaders sent the council Sunday raises concerns about what would happen if Chan were to depart as voters elect a new mayor. Mayor Darrell Steinberg, who has held the office since December 2016, has decided not to run for re-election . Assemblyman Kevin McCarty and Flojaune Cofer are running for his seat in the Nov. 5 election and the winner will take office Dec. 10.
“We urge all stakeholders to consider the impact an abrupt or poorly planned change in the city manager, coupled with a brand-new mayor has on your employees,” stated the letter from the Sacramento Police Officers Association, Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522, and Sacramento City Exempt Employees Association. “Sufficient planning and thoughtful timing for major changes such as this are necessary to ensure the city continues to move forward in a positive direction, while maintaining consistency and reassuring your workforce.”
The council will meet behind closed doors at 3 p.m. Tuesday to discuss a performance evaluation for Chan, according to an agenda posted to the city’s website.
Chan’s contract says he should get a performance evaluation once a year. Brown Act experts have said that discussion is allowed to be in closed session, but discussions about raises cannot be.
Valenzuela said she believes the next mayor and new council members should decide whether to extend Chan’s contract.
“It’s a big decision to make with the new council coming in and I think that would be the most appropriate action to take given how close the mayor and city manager work together,” Valenzuela said Tuesday morning.
In addition to the mayor, there will be two new members of council come Dec. 10 — Phil Pluckebaum replacing Valenzuela, and either Stephen Walton or Roger Dickinson replacing interim Councilman Shoun Thao. Chan supported Pluckebaum by attending his party on the night of the primary. With new members, it’s possible Chan may have the votes for a raise after Dec. 10.
An effort to advocate for Chan has taken place on social media. On Sept. 17 an account called Keep South Sac Together posted a video to Facebook.
“The mayor and the City Council have failed you they have failed me, the city manger, who is surely soon to leave because of their inability to let him do his job and clean up our streets,” the video, which is not in Chan’s voice, stated. “The City of Sacramento is getting worse, not better. The camps, tents and people sleeping on our sidewalks. This is a failure of leadership. It will unfortunately cost us the person responsible for running our city because the mayor and council don’t understand the basic duty that they have — keeping the city clean and safe.”
The video shows images of homeless camps as well as Mayor Darrell Steinberg, Councilwomen Karina Talamantes and Caity Maple.
It’s unclear who made the video. The page was originally created to discuss redistricting. A message to the page was not immediately answered. Chan did not create the video, Williams said.
The council will meet in closed session at 3 p.m. Tuesday, followed by open session at 5 p.m.
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