Don’t trust city staff
The March 3 article, “Vallejo city departments report chronic understaffing, many economic challenges,” describes Deputy City Manager Gillian Hayes’ characterizations of the morale, salary parity, and retention of staff in the city. The article presents these claims as fact when in fact many are provably false.
In defending her report on the salary comparisons, particularly on social media, TimesHerald staff writer Katy St. Clair has cited salary listings by Transparent California. These listings provide the salary of the current individual holding a position, but do not specify what step they are on the salary schedule, which is going to vary based on experience. A deputy city manager in Walnut Creek may make more than
Ms. Hayes, but that person may also have 30 more years of experience.
Pulling up the salary schedules themselves and looking at the ranges for common positions yields a far different conclusion – that Vallejo pays at or better than most of our peers.
Additionally, Ms. Hayes claims to have received a job offer from the City of Berkeley which pays $50k more than a position in Vallejo, while also claiming that she is not looking to leave Vallejo. With the way that hiring works in the public sector, it is impossible for her to have received an offer for a job without applying and interviewing for it.
The Times-Herald should also mention that the City Manager Greg Nyhoff has fired four senior staff for whistleblowing over the past 18 months, with complaints of race and gender-based harassment and HR coverups, which could be contributing to the low morale and high turnover of staff.
While attempting to garner sympathy, Ms. Hayes inadvertently confirmed the concerns that our community has been expressing for months. Nyhoff is unfit to lead this city, and the environment at City Hall is so toxic that the city is losing staff at unprecedented rates, and the morale of those who remain is at rock bottom. Imagine working somewhere where you see patterns of harassment and HR violations, and highly respected colleagues (or supervisors) fired for attempting to blow the whistle on this corruption. Any of us in that position would be looking for jobs elsewhere.
In this tumultuous and critical time for our city, we need objective reporting more than ever. I urge the Times-Herald to fact-check claims made by city staff, who have made a habit of openly lying in council meetings for nearly a year now.
— Melissa Swift/Vallejo