SAN ANTONIO – City Manager Sheryl Sculley will receive a $75,000 bonus.
The City Council approved the bonus Thursday following an annual performance review.
Sculley will also receive a $25,000 increase in her annual base salary from $450,000 to $475,000, as per her contract, a city news release said.
"The city manager continues to do a great job providing sound fiscal management of taxpayer money and maintaining our best-in-the-nation bond rating," Mayor Ron Nirenberg said in a statement.
The City Council cited several "notable accomplishments" in 2017 for the bonus, including high voter approval for the largest-ever bond program in the city's history, swift execution of bond-funded infrastructure projects, the continued strong financial position of the city, effective crisis management for tornadoes in San Antonio and Hurricane Harvey, and implementation of the "equity-focused" budget for Fiscal Year 2018.
"Sheryl has my admiration," District 5 City Councilwoman Shirley Gonzales said. "Running the city is tough. Not only do you have politics, but it's like running 30 different businesses. She's not just overseeing pothole repair. Sheryl's also responsible for public safety, the airport, pre-K education, building infrastructure, catching stray animals and picking up garbage for nearly 500-square miles."
But District 6 City Councilman Greg Brockhouse wasn't on board with Sculley's bonus.
"I think it's laughable when you try to talk about an equity conversation, and you try to put money in the neighborhoods and communities, and then you turn around and do this," he said. "And I would honestly say that we don't even know what she should be evaluated on. And I think that's embarrasing."
The city currently doesn't have employee performance goals and a pre-determined review method.
Sculley's evaluation was a process led by Nirenberg, which sought direct input from council members in one-on-one meetings regarding performance and pay.
Nirenberg acknowledges that the process "needs to be improved and formalized for future years."
The mayor and Sculley, with input from the City Council, will develop performance goals and metrics for 2018. But the City Council will solicit proposals and hire consultants to develop and coordinate executive performance reviews later this year that will apply in 2019 and beyond, the news release said. The City Council has also requested help in assessing the appropriate compensation for each position based on robust analysis of available data.
The council also reviewed the performance of the city auditor and city clerk, who received high marks from the council for their work. The Council will consider salary increases for them next month.