A Bay Space metropolis supervisor who has been on paid administrative depart amid a texting scandal and office discrimination complaints simply scored a pay bump.
Brentwood Metropolis Supervisor G. Harold Duffey’s annual base wage is leaping roughly 3% — from $304,515 to about $313,650 — although he has been on depart since June, in line with The Mercury Information.
The Brentwood Metropolis Council unanimously authorized the rise Tuesday, with the increase taking impact July 16.
Duffey’s employment contract comprises a so-called “compaction clause” requiring his wage to stay 5% greater than the highest-paid worker reporting on to him, in line with interim Human Assets Director Teresa Fairbanks.
That provision was triggered when Walter O’Grodnick turned police chief on July 16 and the hole between his wage and Duffey’s narrowed to only 2%.
Whereas the metropolis supervisor’s paycheck bought a lift, his future with the town stays up within the air.
Duffey has been on paid administrative depart since June, although metropolis officers haven’t stated whether or not the transfer stems from the controversial texts or separate allegations of gender-based discrimination.
The texting scandal erupted after Duffey’s former colleague in Oakland, Metropolis Administrator Jestin Johnson, abruptly resigned in Might following the discharge of hundreds of public data containing messages between metropolis officers.
Among the many messages had been exchanges between Johnson and Duffey through which the 2 mentioned feminine colleagues in suggestive phrases.
In a single 2024 trade, Duffey described a lady official as having “bought the outdated participant mesmerized,” apparently referring to himself. Johnson replied that as a result of he needed to sit subsequent to her, he needed to “pressure myself to look into her eyes.”
Duffey additionally referred to a different feminine official as his “kryptonite,” in line with data.
Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee blasted the messages on the time as “degrading and unprofessional” and stated they had been incompatible along with her administration, in line with the Contra Costa Pulse.
Duffey, who beforehand served as Oakland’s assistant metropolis administrator and public works director, left the town late final yr and was employed by Brentwood in November.
However the controversy adopted him.
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Lower than two weeks after Johnson’s resignation, 4 Brentwood worker associations despatched letters to the Metropolis Council elevating what they known as “severe concern” about Duffey and alleged gender-based discrimination within the office.
One nameless male worker alleged he witnessed girls being summoned with finger-waving and hand gestures that felt “degrading and dehumanizing.”
He additionally claimed there was a sample of girls being handled and spoken to in another way and being anticipated to shoulder duties that male colleagues weren’t.
Debra Galey, president of the Supervisors and Professionals Workers Affiliation, individually urged the council to position Duffey on depart whereas an impartial investigation into his alleged conduct was performed.
The council in the end voted unanimously to place Duffey on paid depart in June.
Brentwood Mayor Susannah Meyer harassed on the time that the choice was “not a remaining willpower of any matter,” citing authorized, privateness and due-process restrictions on discussing the state of affairs, in line with The Mercury Information.
Throughout Tuesday’s public remark interval, resident Melissa van Ruiten urged council members to pump the brakes on Duffey’s increase till his employment standing is resolved. However the pay bump sailed by way of anyway.
In the meantime, Duffey’s personal standing stays unresolved.
He was scheduled for a efficiency analysis throughout Tuesday’s closed session, however Meyer introduced afterward that there was nothing to report.
Duffey can solely be faraway from his place by way of a voluntary resignation or termination by the Metropolis Council. Earlier than touchdown in Brentwood, he served as metropolis supervisor or administrator in Compton, Grand Terrace and Oroville.
The California Submit contacted Brentwood Metropolis Council and Duffey for remark.
