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Over 30 city executives, including Fire Chief Baraka Carter, Police Cpt. Junsun Lee and Economic Development Manager Amanda Anthony will see pay raises following the Redwood City Council’s unanimous approval of these changes at its regular board meeting Monday.
The updates include new salary ranges last refreshed in November 2024, the job classification for Crisis Response Clinician, clarifications on the relocation assistance benefit, and the ability for qualifying employees to bank holiday work hours.
“It is not a secret that the Bay Area… is an incredibly expensive place to live,” said Mayor Elmer Martínez Saballos from the rostrum. “I hope that’s going to be a recruitment tool, but I would also like for us to study whether this could be a retention tool.”
Lee, who assumed his position as police captain in June; Carter, who was appointed fire captain last January; and Anthony, who became the economic development manager in 2024, are among the dozens of city executives who will see higher paychecks and new benefits.
Pay updates include a 3% cost-of-living increase for Dec. 1, 2024 and 2025, and an incoming increase on Dec. 1, 2026. Within the year, the city will conduct a total compensation survey for all executive management roles, ensuring equity adjustments do not exceed 1% and that the total increase in compensation does not exceed 5%.
The update to the relocation assistance benefit is that now approval is up to the city manager or their designee, and has reduced to apply to new executive hires with a permanent residence farther than 50 miles from the city, instead of 100, who either want to relocate to Redwood City, or get a second home within 50 miles of the city.
New qualifying relocation expense reimbursements include shipping, storage, and reimbursement for the first month’s rent or mortgage — up to $3,500 — for a total reimbursement of $10,000. If an employee voluntarily leaves their position with the city within their first 12 months, they must repay this relocation assistance.
Council member Marcella Padilla expressed interest in hiring local talent rather than recruiting talent from elsewhere with relocation benefits, noting that the Redwood City community has “tremendous talent.”
Executive employees will now be able to code holidays worked as “banked” to receive regular pay, and then receive eight hours of leave credit for another workday. The city recognizes 13 holidays and observes two administrative holidays, during which employees may receive eight hours of regular pay per day.
City staff reviews the Summary of Compensation and Terms of Employment “periodically” to confirm that management benefits “stay in balance” with benefits offered to other city employees, and to attract qualified candidates to assume important leadership positions, the Dec. 22 staff report states.
The intention behind these changes is to support the city’s Strategic Plan, which calls for upholding “the highest standards of professionalism” and encouraging “fiscal responsibility, innovation, and strategic decision making.” These updates are also meant to improve “operating efficiency” and “service delivery,” while the city continues to invest in staff leadership and skill development.
In determining compensation packages, the city examines the cost of living, staffing goals, the city’s current financial condition and any anticipated fiscal challenges, as well as compensation survey data from comparable Bay Area cities, such as Berkeley, Palo Alto, and San Mateo.
The cost of these changes will be covered by the 2025 to 2026 fiscal year budget, the staff report states, though for subsequent fiscal years, salary and benefit costs will be built into the development of future recommended budgets.
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