SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The City of Sacramento is looking for a new city manager.
On Tuesday night, a majority of city councilmembers voted against extending City Manager Howard Chan’s contract by a year.
“It is a new era for the city. A transition,” said newly installed Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty at Tuesday’s council meeting.
At the public meeting – and a three-hour closed session beforehand – councilmembers discussed whether to extend the contract of Chan by one year, through the end of 2025.
Chan's base salary is $400,652.50. The council last approved a raise for him in November 2022. Prior to that, in recent years, he was making $372,700 as of February 2021, $338,818.70 as of February 2020, and $308,017 as of February 2019, according to City Council agenda documents and meeting minutes.
In November 2022, the City Council added six weeks—240 hours—of “Management Leave Time” to his leave balances. That’s after granting him 58 weeks of paid leave—2,320 hours—less than a year prior, in January 2022.
Chan is one of the highest-paid city managers in the state. He has served in this role for nearly eight years and has worked for the city for a total of 22 years.
“I thank him for that service,” Councilmember Lisa Kaplan said at Tuesday’s meeting, turning to face Chan. “And we could’ve done better. This is not the graceful landing you deserved.”
Three councilmembers voted in favor of extending Chan’s contract through the end of 2025: Rick Jennings, Kaplan and Phil Pluckebaum.
The other six councilmembers – including Mayor McCarty - voted to reject extending Chan’s contract by a year, effectively letting his current contract expire at the end of this month: Roger Dickinson, Eric Guerra, Caity Maple, Karina Talamantes and Mai Vang.
"I was clear during the campaign that I would deal with the City Manager’s contract after I was sworn in and that my hope at the time was for continuity in the first year,” McCarty said in a statement Wednesday. “However, after the three-hour closed session with the full council it was clear that it was time for a change. I voted with the majority to reject his contract and move forward. The search for a new city manager will begin in the new year."
The city said in a blog post Wednesday that Chan will serve until the end of his contract on Dec. 31.
“I take great pride in being a Sacramentan, and it has been an honor and a privilege to serve as City Manager,” Chan said in the post. “I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to work with such a talented group of dedicated employees and to lead our team through times of growth as well as times of challenge.”
“For the past eight years, I have done my very best to serve the City Council and our residents and to be a good steward to taxpayer dollars,” Chan said. “This city and the people who work to keep it running will always remain in my heart. Sacramento is a place of limitless potential, and I know our brightest days remain ahead of us.”
In the hour of public comment ahead of the vote, some spoke in support of Chan.
“Last year, under the City Manager’s leadership, we were able to navigate the deficit, delivering a balanced budget without cuts to critical city services and – more importantly – no layoffs to city staff,” said James Allison, executive director of the Power Inn Alliance, “a property business improvement district (PBID) representing Sacramento’s manufacturing and industrial core and the 1,300 businesses within it.”
Council also heard from Jay King, president and CEO of the California Black Chamber of Commerce.
“His efforts have fostered partnerships, supported economic growth and strengthened the very fabric of our community,” King said, of Chan.
Former Sacramento mayoral candidate Dr. Flo Cofer, who narrowly lost the seat McCarty won by 1% of the vote, shared news with the public.
“In late September, I was told that I would be given a campaign contribution in exchange for agreeing to extend the City Manager’s contract by one year,” Cofer said. “And I was told that this had to happened because the City required stability.”
She said she wanted to make it very clear “that, to my knowledge, Howard Chan was not aware of and did not condone what was offered to me on his behalf. But that it happened at all gives me serious concerns about who is pulling the strings and what they’re willing to do and what they’ve already done.”
She rejected the campaign contribution offer and is declining to say who made it, out of safety concerns from her family.
“Given the casual ease with which it was offered, I can’t help but wonder if I’m the only one in town who has had this experience,” Cofer said. “I want to make sure that our city decisions are not made with undue influence.”
She says—she agrees with the Council’s decision not to extend Chan’s contract.
ABC10 is working to find out how much the city will pay Chan at the end of his contract. A city spokesperson did not have that information immediately available late Wednesday afternoon.
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