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Update: The City Council approved 7% raises for City Manager Ed Shikada and City Attorney Molly Stump on Dec. 11. The council unanimously approved Stump’s raise and voted 5-1, with Greg Tanaka dissenting and Vicki Veenker absent, to approve Shikada’s.
After approving salary increases for most City Hall workers over the past year, the Palo Alto City Council is now preparing to raise salaries of two top staff members: the city manager and the city attorney.
Under proposed changes to their employee contracts, which the council will consider on Dec. 11, City Manager Ed Shikada and City Attorney Molly Stump would each get a 7% raise. This would bring their salaries to $408,496 and $359,258, respectively.
Council members agreed to raise Shikada’s and Stump’s after a period of evaluation led by the consulting firm MRG, according to a report from the Human Resources Department. The process included surveys, one-on-one interviews and closed session discussions among council members, according to staff. The council had discussed the performance of Shikada and Stump behind closed doors on Nov. 27.
Unlike the vast majority of the City Hall workforce, the city manager and the city attorney are appointed directly by the council (The city auditor and the city clerk are the only other positions). They don’t belong to any of the city’s labor unions and work under individual contracts.
The council’s Dec. 11 vote follows a year in which every labor group received raises of at least 8% and in some cases more. The largest firefighters union, the International Association of Fire Fighters, in January received immediate 12% raises under their new contract, which also granted them 4% pay bumps in July of 2023 and July 2024.
Palo Alto’s largest police union, meanwhile, received 5% raises in April under contracts that also included 4% salary hikes in July 2023 and July 2024.