The tenure of Sacramento's city manager, Howard Chan, is coming to an end after a recent city council vote. As noted by ABC10, council members met yesterday and, led by new Mayor Kevin McCarty, decided to not extend Chan's contract beyond December this year. The vote concluded with a margin of 6-3 against the extension.
Chan has been at the helm as city manager for the last eight years, pulling a salary that exceeded $400,000 in recent times – making him one of the highest-paid city managers in the state. Acknowledging his contributions, Council member Lisa Kaplan expressed her gratitude towards Chan at the meeting. "You've given 22 years to the city. I don't like how tonight ended up," Kaplan said. "I thank him for that service and we could have done better. This is not the graceful landing you deserved," as reported by ABC10. Despite facing an unprecedented $77 million budget shortfall, the decision reflected a desire to boldly move into a new fiscal era for Sacramento.
According to KCRA, Mayor McCarty, who during a pre-election debate had once seemed inclined to keep Chan on board through the next year, stated, "We want to thank Howard Chan for his service over the past eight years— years that saw so many challenges to this great city." McCarty further explained, "But tonight the majority of the council and I have decided to move forward and in the new year we will work to find a city manager that can help move Sacramento forward."
With Chan's time coming to a close, the city now faces the task of identifying and bringing onboard a new city manager, an endeavor that is set to begin soon as the city's HR has been directed to commence the search. As stated by McCarty in the council meeting, "We do have amazing city staff. We'll figure out the next chapter what that looks like," as per a report by ABC10. The move comes at a critical moment for Sacramento, which will require adept leadership to navigate the fiscal challenges and to continue fostering the growth and welfare of the community.
