Two Elk Grove City Hall Executive Employee Positions to be Upgraded, Receive Big Pay Hikes if Approved by City Council

Interim Elk Grove City Manager Jason Behrmann. |  

June 25, 2018 |   

Even though he has not yet been appointed as the permanent city manager, Jason Behrmann is making personnel moves at Elk Grove City Hall that appear to be solidifying his team of executive managers and paving the way for his eventual appointment.

In a move that will require the approval of the Elk Grove City Council, interim city manager Jason Behrmann is seeking pay increases and job title changes for one current and one future member of the city's executive team. Behrmann, whose official position is assistant city manager, was appointed as the city's interim city manager following last month's firing of former city manager Laura Gill.

At Wednesday night's Elk Grove City Council meeting, council members will hear a request that would upgrade Christopher "C.J." Jordan from assistant to the city manager to the head of a newly created bureau, the director of Strategic Planning and Innovation. Currently, Jordan's pay range is $102,491 - $137,348 and Behrmann is requesting his new pay range to be increased to $129,832 - $173,988.

Christopher "C.J." Jordan. 

According to Transparent California, as of 2016, Jordan was paid $127,813 annually. Median household income in Elk Grove is $83,141 as calculated by DataUSA. 

As justification for the added costs to taxpayers, Behrmann points to the $100,000 grant the city received earlier this year from the Bloomberg Foundation to develop a standardized rental application and his realization the city is not operating efficiently. As part of the $100,000 grant Elk Grove is one of 35 cities competing for $5 million in funding from Bloomberg.

In his report, Behrman says the process of competing for the $5 million made him realize the need for a director of strategic planning that would help the city's executive team fulfill city council members' vision for Elk Grove. Behrman further justifies the added cost by noting "offices like the one proposed are cropping up across the country as state and local governments seek new ways to approach challenges and identify solutions to a range of issues."       

The second job change would be a reclassification of an administrative analyst position in the city manager's office, which is currently unfilled,  to strategic planning and innovation program manager that would report to Jordan. The pay range for the current position is $67,951 - $91,061 with Berhmann seeking of pay for the new position with a range of $ 93,794 - $125,693.

Wednesday night's meeting starts at 6 p.m.