Ex-Sacramento city manager will continue to receive city salary for a year with new job title
The Sacramento City Council last month rejected the renewal of Howard Chan’s city manager contract, but he will still receive a city salary of more than $300,000 for a year under a new job title.
Chan’s last day as city manager was Dec. 31 after his request for a contract extension failed following months of criticism over his high salary and decision-making. On his LinkedIn page, Chan on Tuesday night announced, “I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Special Advisor to the City Manager at City of Sacramento!”
Several people congratulated Chan in the comments section of his LinkedIn announcement, saying the city government was lucky to have him and that city officials made the right move in bringing back Chan.
But Chan’s new job title and salary, which ends after 12 months, is the result a provision added to his contract more than five years ago.
That provision, which was added to Chan’s contract in September 2019, granted him rights to an assistant city manager position in Sacramento for a term of at least 12 months after his city manager contract ended. Chan would have sole discretion whether to exercise this provision, which also grants him a salary set at the top of the published range and applicable benefits for the assistant city manager position.
The 2019 amendment to Chan’s city manager contract was approved by the then City Council, including former Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg who signed the contract amendment.
Recently elected Mayor Kevin McCarty was among the six council members who voted not to renew Chan’s contract last month. Council members Rick Jennings, Lisa Kaplan and Phil Pluckebaum voted to extend Chan’s contract.
Nothing has been decided on what Chan’s role will be as assistant city manager, said Andrew Acosta, a spokesperson for the Mayor’s Office.
“Nothing about him being a special advisor has been decreed by City Hall or the mayor,” Acosta told The Sacramento Bee. “There’s been no discussion about his role.”
Attempts Wednesday to reach Chan via email and his LinkedIn page were unsuccessful.
Chan exercised the provision added in 2019 to his contract before it expired last month, Jennifer Singer, a spokesperson for the City Manager’s Office, said on Wednesday.
Singer said Chan’s current job title is assistant city manager, and his salary will be $340,812.60, per the contract and will receive all benefits under that job classification for up to 12 months. Singer also said current interim city manager, Leyne Milstein, did not take any action relative to Howard’s employment with the city.
Chan, who worked for the city for a total of 22 years made $262,627 when he became interim city manager in 2016. Toward the end of his eight-year tenure as city manager, Chan was earning $593,240 in total wages in 2023. His wages established him as the second highest paid city manager in California.
The City Council last week appointed Milstein as the interim city manager to lead the city’s roughly 6,000 full-time, part-time and seasonal employees over the next several months before a permanent replacement for Chan can be selected. The council on Tuesday approved a contract for Milstein who will steer the city through a nearly $77 million budget deficit.
Milstein will earn $352,000 under that contract. The City Council anticipates the nationwide search to permanently replace Chan will take six to eight months.
It’s unclear what function Chan will play in City Manager’s Office over the next 12 months under his new job title as Milstein oversees an annual operating budget of more than $1.6 billion and implementing policy directed by the City Council.
“When it comes to Howard’s contract, we are obligated to honor the provisions as approved by City Council,” Milstein said in a written statement. “I will be working with him in the near future on his role.”
Councilmember Mai Vang, who represents District 8, was among those who voted against extending Chan’s contract. She was the only one who voted against Milstein’s appointment as interim city manager. Councilmember Roger Dickinson chose to abstain from the vote last week.
“When my colleagues and I voted to not renew the city manager’s contract, I was hopeful our city was moving towards rebuilding trust and a new vision. The subsequent vote last week put us on the exact same path, so this move wasn’t surprising,” Vang said Wednesday in a written statement. “I believe we can still chart a new way forward for our city if we lean into more courageous actions. I look forward to working with our mayor and council to find an external permanent city manager.”
This story was originally published January 15, 2025 at 1:57 PM.
