Sacramento’s ex-city manager among highest paid in CA. New hire will likely make less
Sacramento is expected to have a new city manager by this fall and, if all goes according to plan, the new hire will not be among the highest paid in the state.
These updates were shared at Tuesday’s night City Council meeting by Pamela Derby, the executive recruitment manager for CPS HR Consulting. The firm was hired last month and recently completed individual interviews with council members to help guide its search for one of the top positions in the city’s government.
Derby presented a hiring timeline that estimated the City Council would enter an employment agreement with the final candidate in early August. An exact start date remains unclear, but Derby said it would likely be no later “than the first part of October.”
Former City Manager Howard Chan resigned on Dec. 31 after the City Council rejected his contract extension. The resignation came after months of criticism over Chan’s high salary and decision-making. In 2023, Chan made roughly $593,240 in total wages — the second highest for a city manager in the state.
That number was particularly inflated by Chan’s supplemental leave of more than $200,000, according to an analysis conducted by Derby. She said his base salary was “3% behind the market average” and recommended the council reduce or eliminate that supplemental leave incentive.
“It’s not the norm, and so that would not play into your negotiations,” Derby said.
Derby suggested a base salary range of between roughly 273,000 to $420,000. She also recommended a severance of closer to six months. Chan negotiated a severance of 12 months during his time in Sacramento.
Per the recruiting firm’s engagement plan, an online community survey — available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese and Cantonese — is expected to be launched at the end of the month. The firm will also hold two virtual community meetings and four in-person community meetings.
Councilmember Mai Vang raised concerns about the lack of community involvement near the semi-final stages of the hiring process. Derby acknowledged that she did not include such a possibility in the timeline because the council was not in consensus on that decision.
“My colleagues may not agree with me, but I just want to put on record that’s really important for me,” Vang said.
Derby said, unlike other states, that is not the norm in California and has a “dampening effect” on active recruitment. Derby recommended a “tightly managed process” with community members signing NDAs if the council decided to go that route.
“It just can raise a lot of concern, but it’s possible to be done,” Derby said.
This story was originally published March 25, 2025 at 10:17 PM.
