Sculley to earn more

SAN ANTONIO — The City Council is slated Thursday to extend City Manager Sheryl Sculley's employment contract by two years and increase her salary to $400,000 by 2015.

The council is expected to approve the raise, which will increase her salary to $375,000 in 2014 and to $400,000 the year after.

She's also eligible for one-time incentive bonuses of $50,000 in 2014 and $65,000 in 2015.

Sculley, whose base salary has been at $355,000 for the past four years, passed on a contractual salary increase two years ago during the global economic crisis.

She's already the highest-paid city manager in the state, though hers isn't the top for local public institutions.

CPS Energy CEO Doyle Beneby earns a base salary of $425,000 annually, which can double with incentive pay. George Hernández Jr., CEO of the University Health System, earns $550,000 in base pay and received a $75,000 bonus this year.

With her one-time bonuses, Sculley will gross $425,000 in 2014 and $465,000 in 2015.

Sculley's package appears to have the support it needs for council approval.

“She's a good city manager,” said Councilman Carlton Soules, who often is critical of increasing the city's expenses. “She manages a $2.5 billion budget, and she's kept our triple-A bond rating, so I think she's going to get that passed.”

Recruited to San Antonio by then-Mayor Phil Hardberger, Sculley has eliminated more than 1,500 civilian positions and added 477 new public safety positions.

She's overseen more than $1 billion in bond programs and led the city to its first triple-A bond rating ever.

She and her staff also oversaw the whirlwind startup of Pre-K 4 SA — one of the legacy projects of Mayor Julián Castro's tenure.

Castro couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday because he was traveling in Mexico, but he has routinely called Sculley “the best city manager in the U.S.”

She's received praise from others on the dais as well.

“Comparatively, she maintains an operation that's similar to the size, in terms of operational budget, to CPS, and her salary will be roughly half,” Councilman Ron Nirenberg said. “Granted, they're far different organizations, but the impact of having the very best talent we can find in that position is paramount.”

Nirenberg said Sculley deserves a lot of credit and that San Antonio can take a lot of pride in knowing it has a city manager “who is the envy of many, many municipalities across the country.”

Councilwoman Rebecca Viagran declined in an interview Wednesday to say whether she would support Sculley's contract extension, but she has called for a more formal review process.

“I want to go on the record as saying that one of the things that I have shared is the need for a formal evaluation process and to have that implemented,” she said. “That is something that I think the council needs to bring forward.”

Even before her proposed salary increase, Sculley topped the list for managers in Texas.

The second-highest-paid city manager in the state is Austin's Marc Anthony Ott, who earns $301,544 annually, the Texas Tribune reports. The Dallas Morning News has reported that interim City Manager A.C. Gonzalez was earning $250,000 a year as of this summer, making him the third highest paid.

Houston employs a “strong mayor” form of government, meaning the city's highest elected official handles day-to-day operations. Mayor Annise Parker earns more than $200,000 annually.

News Researcher Michael Knoop contributed to this report.