The Sunnyvale Sun
News
City manager's pay raise draws heated criticism
By Cody Kraatz
Over some intense resident objections, the Sunnyvale City Council unanimously approved a package of salary raises and bonuses for Amy Chan, the city manager, and David Kahn, the city attorney, on Nov. 20.
Chan, hired as city manager in 2004 after serving on an interim basis for about one year, got a 9.5 percent raise to $252,554, retroactive to July 1, 2007, plus a 10 percent performance bonus--the target of the most heated criticism from residents.
"I think that the city manager is highly overpaid," said Larry Alba, a Sunnyvale resident, adding that $100,000 per year should be enough for the job.
"What miracle is this woman performing for us?" he asked.
City officials said that the salary is competitive and appropriate, based on a survey of cities of similar size. The city surveyed California cities with populations 50,000 more than and less than Sunnyvale's, and found that base salaries ranged from $218,213 for El Cajon, with 97,255 residents, to $306,168 for Victorville, with 102,538 residents, according to a city report.
Santa Clara, with 114,238 residents, pays its city manager $238,584 per year, according to the city report. City managers generally receive a 7 to 8 percent retirement contribution per year, plus other benefits.
Council members Chris Moylan and John Howe said that Chan saved the city enough money to dwarf her pay during confidential closed-session real estate
negotiations that they could therefore not discuss, but which pertained to the downtown Sunnyvale redevelopment project.
Howe cited a balanced budget as further evidence of the former finance director's success.
However, Josh Salans, a Sunnyvale West Neighborhood Association leader and local activist, feared that Chan, who was not at the council meeting, was trying to boost her salary so that she could retire within a year and collect a higher pension.
"We will be paying for this for the rest of her life, and I do not believe she has earned it from the city of Sunnyvale," said Salans, linking Chan to the failed library bond and the unpopular proposed Mary Avenue extension as signs that she is not doing a good job.
Several residents said they had the impression that Chan had requested the bonus and even intimidated the council into granting one, but several council members said that was not true.
The council can hire and fire both employees, and evaluated Chan's performance while a consultant interviewed those who report directly to her, as Chan's contract requires.
Kahn's 5 percent raise to $201,852, retroactive to July 1, 2007, and a 29 percent car allowance increase based on IRS rates did not come under fire.
