By Robert Haugh
Santa Clara now has the largest and most expensive City Manager’s Office in city history, according to a preliminary review by Santa Clara News Online (SCNO).
The following information was based on information provided by the City and a review of Transparent California, a database that tracks public employee salaries.
For this story, base salaries have been rounded for simplicity.
City Manager Jovan Grogan received a major pay increase when he moved from San Bruno to Santa Clara. His base salary jumped from approximately $243K in San Bruno to $405K in Santa Clara when he was hired in February 2023.
Within months, the 49er Five gave him another raise, lifting his salary to $418K.
For comparison, former City Manager Deanna Santana began her Santa Clara tenure in 2018 with a base salary of approximately $383K. By 2022, before she was fired at the 49ers’ request, her base pay had grown to $469K.
Grogan is up for another raise in the coming weeks.
Other executives in the City Manager’s Office also collect some of the highest salaries in City Hall’s history for their positions:
- Aracely Azevedo $365K
- Janine De la Vega, $234K
- Paulina Morales – $289K
- Marc Freitas – $226K
- Chuck Baker – $361K
- Elizabeth Klotz – $346K
- Nadine Nader – $414K (no longer employed with the City)
City Attorney Glen Googins also received a substantial increase when he was hired in January 2023. His base salary in Santa Clara was set at approximately $345K, a sharp jump from the $231K he earned in Chula Vista.
On Tuesday, the City Council approved another raise for Googins, bringing his base salary to $370K.
His predecessor, Brian Doyle, made $346K in 2020, his last full year before he was terminated at the request of the 49ers.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The City would not provide specifically requested information about total compensation for the City Manager and his employees that included benefit costs. Instead, they sent charts and contracts. So, additional stories will be required to report on total compensation. Stay tuned.
[…] August, SCNO reported in “SPECIAL REPORT, PART 1: Santa Clara’s City Executive Salaries Reach Record Level” that Santa Clara had “the largest and most expensive City Manager’s Office in city […]
[…] Clara currently has the highest-paid City Manager’s Office in the Mission City’s […]
How is it they get these enormous pay increases while everybody else in the valley is either laid off or takes a pay decrease?? Or, if they do get a pay increase it isn’t nearly at the percentage rate of these city employees raises??? And yes, it’s expensive to live here in the valley, but where is the common sense in all of this? What do they do that justifies the amounts they are being paid? Certainly the city isn’t making so much money we can afford to pay these kind of salaries? Where is all this money coming from?
I find interesting that Mary would have these so called “facts” almost immediately after the article was posted. The investigator in me tells me that it came from someone else. I suspect that it’s none other than the Parking Meter king of Santa Clara, Suds Jain.
I’ll see what I can keep finding as my investigation goes forward.
Suds are you ghost writing for Mary?
Hey “Friend”, great question.
Seriously, at least our City was smart enough not to elect Mr. Guerra. Really hard to imagine just how messed up Santa Clara would be today if we had gone from a Convicted Felon to “Curious George”.
Never mind, that technically Santa Clara would still be taking a “step up”, but in reality, all that really does is just confirm how messed up Santa Clara is at this point.
What we really need is a RECALL!! Yea… Recall.
We need to clean house, keep Mayor Gilmor and Council Member Cox, all the rest can apply for various jobs at our Stadium.
You know, Ticket Taker, Usher, Bathroom Attendant.
I think even Kevin Park qualifies for the first two.
No humor intended here, just more Red Flags when dealing with this one person.
Crazy, but If I had children, I’d allow “The Convicted Felon” to be around my kids before I would ever give permission to allow Kevin Park to be around them.
For any amount of time, for any reason, and in any setting.
That says a lot without saying a lot.
Think RECALL…. Let’s see if Santa Clara is now wise enough to make this happen.
Just the facts Ma’am
Aracely Azevedo – Hired by Santana in 2018 as Assistant City Manager.
• Janine De la Vega – Hired by Santana in 2017 as Communications Director.
• Paulina Morales – Promoted during Santana’s time (Economic Development).
• Marc Freitas – Finance director, also hired under Santana.
• Chuck Baker – Hired by Santana in 2018 as Assistant City Manager.
• Elizabeth Klotz – City Attorney, brought in under Santana.
• Nadine Nader – Former Assistant City Manager, hired in 2017 by Santana.
The story is about the historic growth of salaries in the City Manager’s office. The current City Manager, Jovan Grogan, hired or elevated everybody on the list. Mary’s facts are inaccurate.
Also, Janine and Chuck were hired under Grogan, not Santana as stated here.
https://santaclaranews.org/2023/12/21/santa-clara-city-manager-adds-two-new-high-salary-staffers-to-his-office/
Mr. Haugh
Thanks for pointing this out.
I do like what I am reading, and as far as a Recall…. obviously count me in.
So my name is here…. count me in. I think all I have to do is knock on doors and get to meet more of my neighbors and educate them on just how messed up our City has become.
I can do that. I like action. I’m not one to sit around and tell others what to do, hopefully we can make this happen.
Burt Field
Resident of Santa Clara starting in 1963
Sutter, Curtis, Buchser High School
Hadn’t Mary Drizzle adamantly stated she doesn’t read Robert Haugh? Is Suds ghost writing under Mary’s name? Would you allow that Mary? Is Suds too embarrassed to write using his own name now?
Hi Ms. Grizzle,
Your “facts” on the dates of hire for some of those you listed is off by literally years!! Can you please restate the accurate hiring dates and correct the misstatement of your “facts”. FYI the salary that the new city manager, grogan, made by hiring Baker and De La Vega are over half a million dollars each year not even counting benefits!!!!! Where did you get your information? Please share.
And Santa Clara is yet again bamboozled….
Aracely Azevedo: $452,908.35
(hides behind multiple names)
Elizabeth Klotz Assistant City Attorney $360,613.80
Nadine Nader Kayali, Chief Operating Officer $475,907.78
other henchmen of the 49er five yet to be disclosed.
https://transparentcalifornia.com/
Truly Santa Clara governance re-affirms the ‘Peter Principle” in which one rises to “a level of respective incompetence.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_principle
So where is the outrage over the compensation to the city manager and city attorney? In addition, all the high paid city manager support “executives”?
This simply reinforces the fact that Deanna Santana and Brian Doyle were not fired for high salaries, they were fired because they held Jed accountable, represented and protected the City and its residents. The 49er 5 rubber stamped the firings at Jed’s directive and put people in place that do just the opposite.
Is George Guerra sending text messages to any city council members urging their firing over high compensation? Asking for a friend.