December 10, 2004

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Palo Alto Online

Big raises recommended for top city employees

by Bill D'Agostino

Three of Palo Alto's top public employees could get 10 percent raises, despite a projected $5.2 million shortfall for the 2005-2006 fiscal year that could bring about layoffs.

"We did not spend any time worrying about public perception," said Councilwoman Dena Mossar, the chair of the subcommittee that recommended the raises for City Manager Frank Benest, City Auditor Sharon Erickson and City Clerk Donna Rogers.

The Council Appointed Officers committee, which oversees the four officials directly hired by the City Council -- Benest, Erickson, Rogers and City Attorney Gary Baum -- released their recommendation Thursday, citing the employees' exceptional work and the fact none received salary increases for the past three years.

The full council is expected to vote on the matter Monday night.

Salary increases for all city employees are legally required to be public, but this is the first year the council voluntarily released summaries of these managers' overall performances. The City Council set a new policy for how it evaluates its hires earlier this year, which also included hiring a consultant to facilitate those reviews.

The three reviews were made public "because we're very proud" of the employees and "felt that they had done a very good job," Mossar said.

To make its recommendation, the committee compared the workers' salaries with those made by employees in similar positions in comparable California cities. All three employees' salaries were "woefully" below the averages, Mossar said.

Although the salary increases have yet to be agreed upon, the employees' rave reviews were already approved by the full City Council in earlier private meetings.

"We much appreciated your optimism, commitment, enthusiasm, loyalty, courage and the manner in which you handled your personal challenges," the council wrote about Benest, who lost his wife this year and also faced treatment for cancer. "Your performance exceeded expectations."

The city manager essentially acts as CEO for the city, which has a budget of $335 million, including utilities, for 2004-2005.

Under the committee's recommendation, Benest's salary would rise from $181,987 to $200,185. By contrast, city managers in the 16 comparable cities make an average of $193,678.

When benefits are included, Benest's current total compensation equals $222,718, much closer to the $226,996 average total compensation.

The council described Erickson as "perhaps the best City Auditor in the State." She released a string of audits of city services this year that grabbed public attention, including a report that helped clean up the city's long-beleaguered planning process. Her work "exceeds expectations and provides superior analysis of areas in which she makes her insightful and practical recommendations," the council noted.

With the proposed increase, Erickson's salary would rise from $120,016 to $132,017. That would still be more than 15 percent below the $155,210 average for other cities.

However, the cities contrasted for the auditor's proposed salary were much larger than comparisons cited for the other two city employees, since there are so few auditors with comparable duties as Erickson, according to the report. Her total current compensation, including benefits, is $151,009, compared to the $169,762 average.

The city clerk's salary would rise from $89,177 to $98,094. That would still be far below the mean salary of $106,500 for the 10 comparable cities. Her total compensation is currently $115,612, 8 percent below the $125,610 average.

The city clerk prepares City Council agendas, keeps the city's records and coordinates local elections. According to her review, Rogers had a "solid execution of job" and "remains friendly, approachable and courteous."

Staff Writer Bill D'Agostino can be e-mailed at bdagostino@paweekly.com.

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