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Page 2 of 4 <br />City of Redwood City 1017 Middlefield Road, Redwood City, CA. 94063 Tel: 650-780-7000 www.redwoodcity.org <br />environment for experienced City Attorneys continues to be dynamic and competitive as seasoned leaders <br />retire and/or leave municipal employment. In March 2025, to support the City’s goal of attracting and <br />retaining highly qualified employees, the City adopted a Compensation Philosophy and Guidelines policy <br />(Attachment B). <br />Salaries and benefits for the Council-appointed positions, including the City Attorney, are reviewed by the <br />City Council on an annual basis, concurrently with the time of the employee’s annual performance <br />evaluation. When evaluating compensation, adjustments are typically made with consideration given to <br />employee performance, cost of living increases provided to other City employees, total compensation <br />relative to the City’s survey of benchmark cities, internal pay equity, and the current financial conditions <br />of the City. <br />City Attorney Veronica Ramirez has been serving as City Attorney since September 6, 2016. <br />ANALYSIS <br />This year’s annual performance review process included 360 feedback and City Council interviews and <br />evaluations of the City Attorney, facilitated by a consultant. After the evaluation was completed in August <br />2025, an Ad Hoc Committee comprised of Mayor Martinez Saballos, Vice Mayor Eakin, and Council <br />Member Padilla convened on October 22, 2025, to discuss appropriate compensation adjustment for the <br />City Attorney. Job performance, potential compensation adjustment to be given to other City employees, <br />internal equity, and relative compensation comparisons within the labor market, were the key factors <br />considered by the Ad Hoc Committee. <br />A salary survey was conducted by Human Resources staff using seven comparator cities. In accordance <br />with the Council adopted Compensation Philosophy and Guidelines, total compensation was used for the <br />comparative analysis. Based on this analysis, it was determined that the City Attorney’s total current <br />compensation is 4.2% below average and 1.2% below median. <br />The Ad Hoc Committee recommends a 3% merit increase for the City Attorney. If the City Council approves <br />the Committee’s recommendation, the City Attorney’s total compensation would be 1.6% below average <br />and 1.5% above median, which is within the parameters in the Council approved Compensation <br />Philosophy and Guidelines policy. Additionally, the Ad Hoc Committee discussed the City Attorney’s <br />accomplishments in the past year, including her preemptive work and proactive approach in protecting <br />the City’s interests with regards to potential and existing litigation; the legal analysis and advice provided <br />on housing legislation, and excellent legal support on several core service areas such as fees, development <br />projects, and Public Record Act requests. In recognition of the City Attorney’s exceptional performance, <br />the Ad Hoc Committee recommends a one-time bonus of approximately 4.5% of current salary ($15,000), <br />for Council consideration. <br />EQUITY IMPACT STATEMENT <br />As stated in the Background and Analysis sections of the staff report, when evaluating compensation for <br />the City Attorney position, adjustments are typically made with consideration given to employee <br />10.A. - Page 2 of 18 <br />602