Daly City Council to consider pay increase for city manager

The Daly City Council will take up whether to approve a pay increase for its city manager on Monday.

Thomas Piccolotti, who previously served as the city’s water resources and wastewater director, first joined Daly City as its interim manager in August 2022, and was appointed officially last January.

According to the Daly City Council’s agenda, Piccolotti currently earns $14,495 bi-weekly, or about $376,870 annually.

The increase would start with a 6% of his base biweekly salary, effective this Tuesday, with a 5% increase of the base bi-weekly salary effective January 2025 and January 2026.

That would put the city manager’s pay at almost $400,000 starting this year, and increasing to $440,429 by 2026.

In the city council’s agenda report, city staff said in justifying the increase that Piccolotti has been an “inspiring and effective leader serving as City Manager for Daly City and has extensive experience dealing with challenges facing local government management.”

“He has continued to strengthen his rapport and familiarity with the City Council, Daly City Community and has built effective relationships with a broad-based constituency,” it said.

The city manager is tasked with the overall management and supervision of Daly City’s municipal operations. This includes financial planning, public information activities, oversight of labor relations, and the coordination of city programs and activities, among other duties.

It is often the case that city managers are among the highest paid employees in local government, but how does Daly City’s proposed increase compare to its neighbors?