New Davis City Manager Took $65k Pay Cut in Manteca

On June 28, the Davis City Council approved a budget that seeks $2.5 million in personnel savings. Those will likely come via some combination of restructuring, layoffs and cuts in salary.

That same week, in Manteca, City Manager Steve Pinkerton took a $65k pay cut, saying, “it wouldn’t be right for us (management) not to take the same hits that other city employees have been asked to take.”

The Davis City Council announced Pinkerton’s hiring Tuesday night, praising his 30 years of experience in local government and his expertise in budgetary and organizational issues.

Pinkerton’s salary would have been $230,000 in Manteca this fiscal year, but the cut in pay brought it down to $165,000. The cut came after he asked that all bargaining groups take cuts to come up with $4.2 million in annual savings, according to the Manteca Bulliten:

Each bargaining group was given a number that they had to come up with that reflected their share of the overall budget that had to be reduced proportionately to come up with $4.2 million in annual savings … Bargaining groups that fail to meet the goal will have the difference made up in layoffs within their collective bargaining unit.

Davis will be looking for $2.5 million in cuts just as Pinkerton hops on board.

As City Manager of Davis, he will make  $188,000 per year. He will also pay 2 percent of the 8 percent employee contribution to his pension. Here’s what a city press release had to say:

Pinkerton’s salary and benefits may be modified to maintain consistency with changes in compensation for all management employees.  He will not receive any city contribution towards a deferred compensation plan and will not receive any auto or technology allowance.  The contract is similar in structure to Bill Emlen’s, and its total compensation will, at most, represent a $3,500 increase over Emlen’s last full year of 2009.

Pinkerton took his job in Manteca just as San Juaquin County was barraged with foreclosures. With property values and municipal revenue dropping, the city was facing major budget deficits.

Three years later, through a combination of staffing consolidations, increased operational efficiencies, and an aggressive economic development strategy, Manteca has adopted a balanced budget for the coming fiscal year.

The hire is pending a formal approval process. The council plans to formally approve the hire at a meeting on the morning of August 1, just before they begin a month-long recess.