CHA-CHING: $42K pay raise, city manager?
Lakewood City Council votes on an almost 20% salary increase Tuesday.
LAKEWOOD, CALIF. — City Council will consider a hefty salary increase for City Manager Thaddeus McCormack on Tuesday.
There is no report in Council’s Tuesday agenda packet regarding McCormack’s proposed salary increase to $22,698.90 monthly, which adds up to $272,268 annually. Instead, a one-page order authorizing the salary increase of about $42,000 is provided for Council to consider.
Council last approved a salary of $230,072 for McCormack at its Aug. 8, 2017, meeting. No written agreement for the City Manager’s current contract from 2017 exists in the Council’s agenda nor minutes archives, however. However, a copy of the current contract can be found on the City’s website. Instead, the City Manager’s contractual agreement was then-provided to Council via oral presentation by City Attorney Steve Skolnik, per Council’s agenda records. Information for the 2017 contract comes from the Council’s minutes, pictured below.
Justifying McCormack’s upcoming salary increase, according to the agenda’s one-page report, was a review of the performance of McCormack that showed “the City Manager has commendably and satisfactorily performed his duties during the evaluation period up to and including the date hereof.”
No review of McCormack’s performance was provided in the Council agenda packet.
The 2017 Council Minutes showed City Manager McCormack receiving the $230,072 salary in addition to benefits. According to the amendment of McCormack’s contract being considered Tuesday, the City Manager’s salary is what is being increased: “In all other respects the Agreement shall remain in full force and effect,” per the Council’s agenda for Tuesday.
City Manager’s 2017 contract
When approved by the Council at its Aug. 8, 2017, meeting, no copy of the contract was available in the Council’s agenda packet. Instead, information was only provided to the Council via oral presentation.
However, a copy of McCormack’s contract is available on the City’s website. It shows the City Manager being compensated via the following items:
A monthly $500 car allowance, beginning Aug. 23, 2020;
OR, instead of the car allowance, a City-provided hybrid vehicle or alternative fuel vehicle;
Benefits provided to senior management of the City;
A $230,072 annual salary;
An annual physical;
Dues and subscriptions for McCormack’s regional, national, state and local city manager associations;
Travel and subsistence expenses for City and profession related matters.
City Council’s salary increase
Council will also consider Tuesday a salary increase for themselves of 2.25 percent for a total salary increase of $37. This would provide Council with a monthly salary of $1,686.
Get involved
Contact City Council and request they provide reports justifying McCormack’s salary increase and publish a copy of McCormack’s contract [delete: “from 2017 and”] 2021.
Mayor Jeff Wood
jeffwood@lakewoodcity.org
Vice Mayor Steve Croft
stevecroft@lakewoodcity.org
Councilman Todd Rogers
toddrogers@lakewoodcity.org
Councilman Ariel Pe
arielpe@lakewoodcity.org
Councilwoman Vicki Stuckey
vickistuckey@lakewoodcity.org
Optional email for all councilmembers
citycouncil@lakewoodcity.org
NOTE: Article originally published October 11, 2021. Article was UPDATED with additional information. Nothing in the update was retracted but rather information was added. Please comment below if the author did retract something unknowingly so the Lakewood Populist could make note of it for readers.
UPDATE: The Lakewood Populist provided additional information about McCormack’s contract [“City Manager’s 2017 contract” section and another highlighted addition], which isn’t available in the Council minutes or agenda packets but rather on the City’s website. Great thanks to a helpful reader for pointing this information out.