New Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty, council postpone decision on city manager’s contract
The highly anticipated discussion over Sacramento City Manager Howard Chan’s contract will have to wait yet another week.
Moments after Kevin McCarty finished his first speech as the new mayor of Sacramento, he motioned to defer the discussion and adjourn the meeting, ultimately delaying the decision until next Tuesday. The City Council unanimously approved the motion shortly after.
Chan’s existing contract expires Dec. 31, though he is eligible to work without one.
“Tonight’s about celebrations and swearing in, and so I thought that was appropriate tonight to focus on the new council and give us some time to suck in the oxygen and talk about these issues,” McCarty said. “We’ll come back to this issue.”
Chan and his contract have been under public scrutiny in recent years following repeated salary increases that have made him the highest-paid city manager in California. He was appointed to the position in 2017.
From his first year to 2022, Chan’s base salary jumped from $282,060 to $400,652. Last year, he earned $593,240 in total wages — more than Gov. Gavin Newsom.
In December 2023, the council awarded Chan another raise. It was rescinded one month later after reporting from The Sacramento Bee that the council had violated the Brown Act, the state’s transparency law.
In October, the council and former Mayor Darrell Steinberg voted to place an item on this Tuesday’s agenda, immediately following the swearing-in ceremony. Chan has requested a one-year extension until Dec. 31, 2025.
That same month, McCarty said he supported keeping Chan on for another year during a debate with his opponent Flojaune Cofer. McCarty, while as a former council member, worked with Chan when he was an assistant city manager at the time.
Following Tuesday’s meeting, Councilmember Mai Vang said she was ready to vote on the contract but “wanted to give deference to the new mayor and council.” In October, she voted against placing the item on Tuesday’s agenda.
“I think folks know how I’m going to vote on the item already,” Vang said.
The focus of the meeting centered around the swearing in McCarty, new Council members Phil Pluckebaum and Roger Dickinson, and incumbent members Vang and Eric Guerra.
This story was originally published December 11, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
