By Robert Haugh
Santa Clara residents responding to a recent survey overwhelmingly believe City Manager Jovan Grogan should not have received a raise without a performance review.
According to a survey by Stand Up for Santa Clara, 92 percent said yes, three (3) percent said no, and five (5) percent said the issue was not important.
The survey followed a Stand Up report that Grogan received a two percent raise even though the City Council did not complete a performance evaluation.
Grogan’s compensation total is approximately $630,000 annually.
Grogan has expanded the City Manager’s office to become the most expensive in Santa Clara history.
The Stand Up survey respondents’ comments focused largely on basic management and accountability. Many said performance should be evaluated before compensation is increased.
Others questioned why the Council failed to complete the review and suggested Santa Clara consider requiring evaluations before top executives receive raises.
Several respondents also pointed to the contrast with Santa Clara firefighters, who received raises earlier this year but were denied retroactive pay. Grogan received both an automatic raise and retroactive compensation.
The survey did not ask residents to rate Grogan’s job performance. It asked a simpler question: should the City Manager be evaluated before taxpayers give him a raise?
For 92 percent of respondents, the answer was yes.
For the three (3) percent who said no, maybe they work in the City Manager’s office.
Funny how he never wants to give other groups their raises in a timely fashion nor their retro, but he always makes sure he gets his money.
He runs our City terribly. People need to keep an eye on him and these land swap deals he keeps trying to push through. Or deals with developers that bring no benefit to our citizens (even when they claim they will).