CORRECTION: No pay raise for Antioch city manager

Ron Bernal. file photo

By Allen Payton, Publisher & Editor

A sub-headline both online and on the front page of the July print edition of the Herald (which went to print prior to the June 26th council meeting), for the article about the June 12 council meeting was incorrect. It stated the city council approved a $20,000 pay raise for City Manager Ron Bernal.

At the meeting on Tuesday, June 26, Interim City Attorney Derek Cole announced that no amendments to Bernal’s contract would be made at this time, but directions were given to the city staff to develop a salary schedule for the city manager that involves a step system, which is tied to performance for future consideration.

During the June 12th City Council meeting the council agreed to bring the discussion of a possible $20,000 pay raise for City Manager Ron Bernal back to closed session for further deliberation. The decision came after hesitation from the council.

I apologize for the mistake.

Although Bernal has the highest base salary of any city employee, the decision leaves him as the second highest paid city employee with a salary of $234,914.17 per year, behind Police Chief Tammany Brooks at $261,917.78 which includes other pay, according to TransparentCalifornia.org. For the 2017 fiscal year, Bernal was the fifth highest city employee behind recently retired Police Captain Diane Aguinaga and two police lieutenants based on their overtime pay. He is the third highest paid government employee in Antioch, behind Antioch Unified School District Stephanie Anello who earns a salary of $238,583 per year.

Correct information provided by writer Alexandra Riva.


4 Comments to “CORRECTION: No pay raise for Antioch city manager”

  1. Arne says:

    It is important to note, that unlike other City Managers, Ron Bernal was also the Public Works Director and City Engineer for the past year as well as being the City Manager!!

  2. Sue amith says:

    Doesn’t matter what others make. His salary is too high for a city with problems like Antioch. We need police, better teachers and maintenance workers to help raise the city. I hate how much I pay in taxes to a city that is NOT safe to drive at night, I have to have a security system that is state of the art. I don’t answer my door, city manager? What the hell is he managing but his own bank account?

    • Publisher says:

      Ms. Smith,
      Thank you for reading the Herald and taking the time to comment.
      The city government has nothing to do with teachers. That’s the responsibility of the school district which is a completely separate government agency.
      But, I agree we need more police. In fact, the city owes us 15 more sworn officers from Measure C, which if we passed it (which we did in 2013) they promised they would hire 22 more officers “immediately”. Yet, here we are almost five years later and they’ve hired a net 7 additional officers, on top of the 89 sworn who were on the force at the time Measure C was placed on the ballot in August. However, the council and staff continue to use the false figures of 82 officers as the base, which is how many we had when Measure C was passed in November. So, they’re telling us they’ve added 14 officers from Measure C.
      To be fair, to ask your last question, that’s seriously disingenuous as the city manager overseas a city of 200+ employees, including police, animal services, water and sewer systems, roads, parks including the water park, recreation, the community centers, the senior center, marina and boat launches, golf course and economic development.
      Please see the city’s website and click on “Departments” to get a better idea what all our city does, which the city manager oversees. http://www.ci.antioch.ca.us/
      Allen Payton, Publisher

  3. Marty Fernandez says:

    If the trash on the streets and roads were cleaned up, people parked their cars in the streets instead of yards, the police problem was cured, our parks were maintained at a level comparable to other nice cities, we watered or medians instead of letting everything die, the laws that govern the quality of life here were enforced, we were not on the brink of bankruptcy due to outrageous contracts and outstanding retirement and medical costs we might discuss a step raise. Not $20,000 when there are people in this city that do not even make 20,000 a year. Mr. Bernal has had three raises in 4 years for every position he took on so Arnie doesn’t have a leg to stand on. This is about performance and must be monitored like any other employee.

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