Newport Beach ups pay for city manager, attorney and clerk

Newport Beach city officials unanimously approved salary increases for its city manager, city attorney and city clerk last Tuesday.

That means City Manager Grace Leung will see her annual base salary climb to $281,220, which is about a 2% increase.

Leung will also see a one-time bonus of $636 within the first pay period of the contract’s approval. City Atty. Aaron Harp‘s annual base salary will bump up 2.058% to $252,500, and he’ll see a one-time bonus of $588.

City Clerk Leilani Brown will also now see a 2% increase of her annual base salary to $155,732. She will receive a one-time bonus of $352.

Leung, Harp and Brown will be required to contribute 13% of their gross pay to the CalPERS system, according to contracts. Other fringe benefits are reimbursements for annual physical exams up to $1,250 for Leung and $1,000 for Harp and Brown in addition to automobile allowances of $500 for Leung and Harp and $400 for Brown to respond to city demands.

As part of the approvals to amend their contracts, the City Council also voted to appropriate $18,301 from the general fund’s unappropriated fund balance to “enhance salary and benefit accounts” for the last six months of the current fiscal year.

The raises come as part of regular contractual updates. Previous contracts approved in April 2019 also similarly provided 2% annual base pay adjustments to Leung, Harp and Brown. Performance reviews of the three were conducted in closed sessions by the City Council in October, November and January.

Leung has been with the city since September 2018 and Harp since September 2011. Brown has been the city clerk since November 2008.

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