REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
SUBMITTED TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
SUBMITTED BY: Michael E. Gates, City Attorney
VIA: Michael E. Gates, City Attorney
PREPARED BY: Michael J. Vigliotta, Chief Assistant City Attorney
Subject:
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Adopt Resolution No. 2022-82 Modifying Non-Associated Salary Schedule for City Attorney to Adjust for Recent Inflation, Make Compensation More Competitive
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Statement of Issue:
The City Attorney's last compensation increase was May of 2019, which by comparison to all other City employees, is the longest period for any employee without an increase in compensation. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, inflation has dramatically increased over those years by nearly 16%, which reduces income by the same amount in contrast. Moreover, the current compensation rate for the City Attorney is not competitive, even with other governments in the area. The City Attorney's current rate is $117.63/hour, and it is recommended that this rate increase to $140.00/hour to adjust for the dramatic increase in inflation since 2019 and to maintain compensation as competitive.
The City Attorney has been a dedicated, faithful, and successful public servant. In addition to a string of legal wins for the City over the past 8 years, just this year alone Mr. Gates won a large, high profile case at trial defending two of the City's police officers in a $20,000,000 lawsuit. In addition, the City prevailed in a suit this year against the State of California in which a $5,200,000 decision in favor of Huntington Beach was won, not including another $22,400,000 that is possible to come back to the City. The City Attorney's work has been very good and he has provided the City with substantial, measurable financial and monetary benefits on the scale of millions of dollars. In addition, the City Attorney's Office has benefitted from the great leadership of the City Attorney, with the office performing at a level seen in...
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