Despite a tight budget year ahead, the Grass Valley City Council will decide tonight whether to grant interim City Administrator Jeff Foltz a 13-percent raise after eight months on the job, as well as extend his contract through May of next year.

If approved, Foltz will be making $85 an hour, or $13,600 per month. Besides drawing a six-figure annualized salary from Grass Valley, Foltz, 59, also is drawing a sizable pension from a 20-year stint as Yuba City's manager - a practice known in the public sector as "double dipping."

"This extended time would allow for the second recruitment of a city administrator for Grass Valley (currently underway) and the selection and appointment of a candidate hopefully by early spring of 2008," Foltz said in a memo to the council.

"I think my talents are pretty damn good," Foltz said of his proposed pay increase. He refused to say how much he was making in retirement pay from his previous 30 years of government work, including stops in Susanville and Clovis. Foltz lives in Rocklin.

Also tonight, the council is being asked to approve raises for City Hall department heads of between 2 percent and 4 percent in 2008 and 2 and 4 percent in 2009. The exact amount depends on the inflation rate.

Foltz's pay raise is justified because of the complexity of his job, said Finance Director Carol Fish. She said the city budgeted for the pay increase. Grass Valley intends to pay its full-time city administrator $96 per hour, or $135,000 per year.

"We're giving him a salary that's more commensurate with what he made before," said Grass Valley Mayor Mark Johnson, referring to Foltz.

Added council member Jan Arbuckle, "I think he's worth every penny."

Council members will be asked to approve the increase as part of their consent agenda, which comes without public discussion unless someone objects.

Foltz has been city administrator since March. At the time, Fish said the interim position was supposed to last as long as six months, resulting in an estimated expenditure of $78,000. Now it could last more than a year. The City Hall's staff is recommending that the raise be granted at tonight's meeting.

Foltz is well liked in City Hall. In March, he said there's "a lot of great people in City Hall," adding "my job is to coach and help provide support to get things done."

The proposed pay raise comes as Grass Valley faces many problems, including a costly ongoing lawsuit with Denver-based Newmont Mining, sewer treatment plant upgrades and road improvements. In July, the city cut funding for three business-oriented groups to help balance its budget.

Funding for the Economic Resource Council was cut by more than half from $27,500 to $12,500; funding for the Grass Valley/Nevada County Chamber and the Grass Valley Downtown Association also dropped from $32,500 to $25,000. "Things were tight this year," Folz said at the time.

Foltz has argued that it has been difficult to find a replacement for the job. The city also has hired a "headhunter" for $22,500 to find candidates.

The county Board of Supervisors cited Grass Valley's trouble finding a permanent replacement for their city administrator in granting a 17 percent raise to County Executive Officer Rick Haffey earlier this month for a possible total of a 23 percent increase by next July.

In Grass Valley, Foltz contended the pay for city administrator was low compared to comparable government jobs. Although the city has interviewed other candidates for a permanent city administrator, it has not provided any details about their backgrounds or resumes.

The city's previous administrator, Gene Haroldsen, was fired in February shortly after a performance review. He received severance pay of about $110,000. As the city's full-time administrator, Haroldsen was earning $115,800 per year.

ooo

To contact Staff Writer Greg Moberly, e-mail gregm@theunion.com or call 477-4234.