Stockton City Council approves contract renewal, raise for City Manager Harry Black

Stockton City Manager Harry Black will receive a $25,783 raise and will serve the city for at least another four-year term.

Black's 8% raise to bring his salary from $322,285 to $348,068 was approved at Tuesday's Stockton City Council meeting on a 6-1 vote, with District 1 Councilmember Michele Padilla dissenting.

The decision followed an extensive performance of evaluation of Black, which was facilitated by outside counsel, according to agenda documents. The evaluation was authorized by the city council in the spring and included surveys, interviews with every department head and deputy department head in the city, and outreach to union leaders for feedback on Black's performance.

In addition to the salary increase, the city's contribution to Black's 401(k) retirement plan will be raised from 12.5% to 17%. He will also receive a monthly auto allowance of $750 and a monthly technology allowance of $400. If Black is terminated, he will receive a lump-sum cash payment in an amount equal to 12 months of his current salary and deferred compensation contributions as severance pay.

Stockton moving forward with Harry Black

Before the vote, Padilla praised Black's performance as city manager, but expressed concerns regarding the increase in pay and benefits.

"It's no doubt that Mr. Black has demonstrated leadership through strategic planning, prudent management, which has put the city in a strong financial position. This ensures long-term fiscal responsibility for our city," Padilla said. "Given the current economic hardships all of us are facing, our residents, I cannot support a 12% salary increase at this time. It's essential that we consider the financial strain on our community and work toward solutions that alleviate, rather than exasperate, their challenges."

No other councilmembers made comments on Black's contract renewal before the vote. However, District 5 Councilmember Brando Villapudua thanked the city manager for his leadership in "the past, the present, and the future."

During the public comment portion of the meeting, more than a dozen business and nonprofit leaders praised Black, particularly for his dedication to building partnerships to achieve goals, his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, and his data-driven approach to problem solving.

Kristen Spracher-Birtwhistle, president and CEO of United Way of San Joaquin County, called Black "one of the most consequential leaders for our community."

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"Since joining the city of Stockton team, no less during a pandemic, he has constructed an impressive staff of hands-on leaders, a team who has rebuilt a city system where efficiency, sensible action planning, and use of technology is a priority," Spracher-Birtwhistle said. "And to our nonprofits, he has directed close to $30 million to the many diverse nonprofits across the city, in support of their missions. This is unparalleled support, which resulted in growth and improvements to our shelters, emergency food banks, and our schools."

Bobby Bivens, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's Stockton chapter, noted the city's bankruptcy filing in 2012. That year, Stockton became the largest city in U.S. history to file for Chapter 9 protection.

"There have been three people that have been primarily responsible for the recovery and the stability of the bankruptcy. One was Bob Deis, city manager, another was Kurt Wilson, city manager, and the sustaining person that took the baton is Harry Black," Bivens said.

He added that Black "has not only kept us sustaining, but also moved us forward."

While the majority of comments about Black's new employment agreement were positive, some community members voiced concerns about city funding being directed to the same organizations, and seeing the same leaders express their support for Black at council meetings.

"I remember several months ago, a councilmember said we have to make sure that the money doesn't always go to the same organizations. We have to spread it out," said Patricia Barrett, a south Stockton resident and frequent attendee of council meetings. "I'm requesting, as a person that is involved with the community, that we also take a look at that so that next year, we have a new crew of people who can say how great City Manager Black is."

Julie Dunning, a midtown Stockton resident and member of Tree Stockton Foundation, an organization that advocates for the protection and restoration of the city's trees, echoed Barrett's comments.

"I, too, have been present when the same people have shown up praising him and it's heartwarming to see that he has such support within the community. He must be doing something right. But again, I would like to see different people in here because they've gotten to experience the funding, the support from Harry Black," Dunning said.

Sailing in the same direction after bumpy start

Black was hired as Stockton's city manager in January 2020, just two months before the city was forced to lock down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He previously was the finance director for the city of Baltimore and the city manager of the city of Cincinnati.

During Black's tenure in Stockton, city leaders approved the Economic Development Strategic Action Plan , which acts as a roadmap for the economic development department as it seeks to accelerate the city's economic success post-bankruptcy. In recent years, the city has routinely been ranked as one of the most fiscally healthy cities in the country.

Black has championed the Office of Performance and Data Analytics, which was established in May 2020. Its website includes an open data portal where anyone can view interactive dashboards and performance data on several topics, including government, business, education, environment, health services, housing, and public safety.

Despite Black's successes, the Stockton City Council met in closed session twice in October 2023 to discuss discipline, dismissal or firing of the city manager. This came as Padilla released a two-page letter in which she accused Black of " bullying, hostility, and retaliation within city hall ," but did not provide specific details. Black received an outpouring of support from city staff and community leaders after the letter's release.

In Black's update to the council on Tuesday, the city manager acknowledged there have been "some disagreements" during his tenure, but shared optimism about the progress that has been made and the city's future.

"The past four and a half years have probably been the most productive of my career. I never thought I would be saying that again since Cincinnati, but it's been productive because of the alignment and the collaboration that we have in terms of you as the governing body and us as staff, working together," Black said. "One of my favorite lines out of the Godfather series is, 'All ships must sail in the same direction,' and although there are some disagreements from time to time, the ships typically sail in the same direction."

Record reporter Hannah Workman covers news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at hworkman@recordnet.com or on Twitter @byhannahworkman. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow .

This article originally appeared on The Record: Stockton City Council approves contract renewal, raise for City Manager Harry Black