UKIAH, CA., 11/5/26 — Sage Sangiacomo was 17 when he went to work for the city of Ukiah. He spent summers in the community services division, then held many different jobs with the city. On Wednesday night, he told the City Council when he plans to leave.
He plans to retire Dec. 9, 2028. That’s his birthday, and the day he becomes eligible to retire. He said that will make 32 years with the city.
“Quick transitions never work well, and these things do take time,” Sangiacomo told the council, according to a recording of the meeting, explaining why he is giving abundant notice of his retirement.
The council then voted 5-0 to change his contract. The changes set his end date. They also raised what the city would owe him if the council fired him before then.
The vote came the day after Tuesday’s election. Three of the five council seats were on that ballot.
An end date and a bigger severance
Since 2015, Sangiacomo’s contract has had no end date. Now it ends Dec. 9, 2028.
The amendment also changes his severance. That’s the money a city pays a manager it lets go without cause, meaning without a finding that he did something wrong.
His old contract paid nine months of base salary. The new one pays 12 months.
It pays 18 months if the council approves firing him without cause during a set window. The window opens the day after a council election and closes June 30 of the next year. Under the amendment, Tuesday’s election opened it, so it runs through June 30, 2027.
The amendment gives the reason for the longer payment. It’s meant “to encourage continuity following a general municipal election and provide newly elected council members an opportunity to observe and evaluate the manager’s performance.”
Severance can’t be more than the pay he would have earned through Dec. 9, 2028. And the contract simply running out doesn’t trigger it.
The new terms also cover his unused time off. When he leaves, the city will pay him for all of his unused vacation, sick and executive leave, on top of any severance. He can choose to turn his sick leave into credit toward his CalPERS pension instead. CalPERS is the state’s pension system for public workers. If he leaves on Dec. 9, 2028, as planned, unused sick leave can go only toward that pension credit.
What it could cost
His base pay in 2024 was $260,253, according to Transparent California, which posts public employees’ pay. At that rate, 12 months of severance would be about $260,000. Eighteen months would be about $390,000. It doesn’t list his 2025 pay.
When the council made him city manager in 2015, his base salary was $161,530.
Sheri Mannion, the city’s human resources and risk management director, said 12 months is “pretty much standard for someone who has been a city manager as long as” Sangiacomo has. She said the California Intergovernmental Risk Authority, which handles risk management for the city, had encouraged it.
The leave payout is new, she said. “It’s just not in his current contract.”
Sangiacomo said his pay stays the same. “There’s no change in salary or compensation proposed with this amendment. That’s not what this is about,” he said.
A request to wait
The agenda posted Oct. 30 listed no documents for the item. The amendment went online at 9:01 a.m. Wednesday, the day of the meeting, according to the city’s agenda website.
Julie Golden asked the council to wait two weeks so the public could read it.
“This council, the votes are still counting. You know, you guys might not be seated here,” she said. “I’m just asking you to push this out until your next board so the public can have a chance to review these documents in whole.”
The council didn’t delay the vote. Douglas Crane made the motion and Mari Rodin seconded it. Mayor Susan Sher, Vice Mayor Juan V. Orozco and Heather Criss also voted yes.
Sher, Orozco and Rodin were all on Tuesday’s ballot. In the election-night count, Orozco had 1,166 votes and Sher had 1,141. Rodin was third with 1,121, 14 votes ahead of John Strangio. The count isn’t final.
After the vote, Sangiacomo said other organizations “in this county and beyond” haven’t had time to plan for a change at the top. His old contract asked for six months’ notice before he retired. He has given about 25 months.
“The council will define the transition, the recruitment, the selection process, and choose the next city manager,” he said.