Sacramento City Council votes against extending city manager's contract

JUST TWO WEEKS. THANK YOU. MAYOR. ITEM NUMBER ONE IS APPROVAL OF AN AMENDMENT TO THE CITY MANAGER’S EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT. THIS WAS THE FINAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF THE YEAR. BUT THE FIRST BIG DECISION FOR THREE NEW MEMBERS. A CONTRACT EXTENSION FOR CITY MANAGER HOWARD CHAN. MORE THAN 30 PEOPLE SPOKE OUT. WE FIRMLY BELIEVE THAT HOWARD IS THE BEST PERSON FOR THIS JOB. DON’T BE A COWARD. GET RID OF HOWARD. SOMETHING’S NOT BROKE. DON’T FIX IT. YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY START FRESH. THIS DEBATE WAS MOSTLY NOT ABOUT CHAN’S PERFORMANCE, BUT HIS $400,000 SALARY. THAT MAKES HIM ONE OF THE HIGHEST PAID CITY MANAGERS IN THE STATE. I CAN’T SUPPORT THIS CONDITION OF THIS CONTRACT. AFTER AN HOUR OF PUBLIC COMMENT, COUNCIL MEMBERS AND THE MAYOR EACH EXPLAINED HOW THEY WOULD VOTE AND WHY. THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE OUT IN SACRAMENTO ARE FRUSTRATED WITH US BECAUSE OF OUR INABILITY TO MOVE ON THINGS, BECAUSE WE’RE CAUGHT UP IN THIS DRAMA OF OUR CITY MANAGER. I HAVE CONFIDENCE IN OUR CITY MANAGER, HOWARD CHAN, TO RUN THE DAY TO DAY FUNCTIONS OF OUR CITY IN THE BEST INTEREST OF ALL SACRAMENTANS. AT THIS POINT, THEY HAD ALREADY SPENT THREE HOURS IN CLOSED SESSION DISCUSSING THE CITY MANAGER’S PERFORMANCE. I THINK THIS IS EXTREMELY AWKWARD MOMENT. UNCOMFORTABLE. I WOULDN’T WANT TO BE IN THIS POSITION UP HERE AS OUR AS OUR CITY MANAGER BEING JUDGED IN FRONT OF ALL OF US, BUT ALSO POTENTIALLY UNCOMFORTABLE IN MCCARTY’S FIRST CONSEQUENTIAL VOTE AS THE CITY’S NEW MAYOR, HE REVERSED WHAT HE SAID ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL AFTER SAYING HE WOULD VOTE TO EXTEND CHAN’S CONTRACT WHEN HE WAS ACTUALLY ON THE HOT SEAT. MCCARTY VOTED WITH THE MAJORITY, MAKING IT 6 TO 3, ENDING CHAN’S WORK AS CITY MANAGER. MCCARTY DID NOT OFFER AN EXPLANATION FOR HIS CHANGE OF HEART. IT IS A NEW ERA FOR THE CITY, A TRANSITION, AND ALSO A NEW ERA FOR A TRANSITION OF CITY MANAGEMENT. IN A STATEMENT TO KCRA THREE, MCCARTY THANKED CHAN FOR HIS SERVICE OVER THE LAST EIGHT YEARS, BUT SAID HE AND THE MAJORITY OF CITY COUNCIL HAVE DECIDED TO FIND A CITY MANAGER THAT CAN HELP MOVE SACRAMENTO FORWARD. A CITY SPOKESPERSON SAYS THEY WILL LIKELY BE SHARING MORE INFORMATIO

The Sacramento City Council has decided not to extend the contract for current city manager, Howard Chan.The council met on Tuesday with new Mayor Kevin McCarty to decide whether to extend Chan's contract another year.Chan takes home a $400,000 salary, one of the highest city manager salaries in the entire state. His contract expires at the end of December, and he requested an extension through Dec. 31, 2025.The city raised Chan's salary to $400,000 in 2022. The State Controller’s Office reports his total wages in 2023, which included a vacation payout, were nearly $600,000. His total wages after his first contract in 2017 were $272,339.During a KCRA 3 election debate in October, McCarty originally expressed interest in voting to extend Chan's contract by one year "and then talk about what's after that." McCarty explained at the time that Chan's experience would be needed when a new mayor is coming in.McCarty went against that on Tuesday, ultimately voting not to extend Chan's contract."We want to thank Howard Chan for his service over the past eight years— years that saw so many challenges to this great city," McCarty said in a statement. "But tonight the majority of the council and I have decided to move forward and in the new year we will work to find a city manager that can help move Sacramento forward."The council voted 6-3 to not extend Chan's contract. The council said it has directed the city's HR to begin the search for a new city manager. See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter

SACRAMENTO, Calif. —

The Sacramento City Council has decided not to extend the contract for current city manager, Howard Chan.

The council met on Tuesday with new Mayor Kevin McCarty to decide whether to extend Chan's contract another year.

Chan takes home a $400,000 salary, one of the highest city manager salaries in the entire state. His contract expires at the end of December, and he requested an extension through Dec. 31, 2025.

The city raised Chan's salary to $400,000 in 2022. The State Controller’s Office reports his total wages in 2023, which included a vacation payout, were nearly $600,000. His total wages after his first contract in 2017 were $272,339.

During a KCRA 3 election debate in October, McCarty originally expressed interest in voting to extend Chan's contract by one year "and then talk about what's after that." McCarty explained at the time that Chan's experience would be needed when a new mayor is coming in.

McCarty went against that on Tuesday, ultimately voting not to extend Chan's contract.

"We want to thank Howard Chan for his service over the past eight years— years that saw so many challenges to this great city," McCarty said in a statement. "But tonight the majority of the council and I have decided to move forward and in the new year we will work to find a city manager that can help move Sacramento forward."

The council voted 6-3 to not extend Chan's contract.

The council said it has directed the city's HR to begin the search for a new city manager.

See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter

Sacramento City Council votes against extending city manager's contract

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