Action follows report from nonprofit Suncoast Searchlight about proposal
In the wake of a July 18 Suncoast Searchlight report about the request, an item calling for a boost of salary to $240,000 for Sarasota City Auditor and Clerk Shayla Griggs was removed from the July 21 agenda before the session began.
Suncoast Searchlight said that that would entail an extra $44,000 per year for Griggs.
Early on during the July 21 meeting, when Mayor Liz Alpert asked whether Griggs had any “changes to the order of the day” to report, Griggs responded, “Please remove Item VI.1” at the request of city Administration, with plans for it to be addressed at a later date.
The Agenda Request Form included in the backup materials showed that Griggs herself had asked for the item to be part of the July 21 agenda.
Under the heading Explanation, that form pointed out, “This item seeks Commission approval of a salary adjustment for the City Clerk position, based on a combination of organizational equity, scope of responsibilities, and sustained performance over time.”
Then it listed “Key Considerations,” as follows:
- “Equity Among Leadership Positions — The City Clerk is currently the only Charter Official compensated below the level of five nonchartered positions — four of whom are Department Directors, despite the Clerk being a Charter-designated position.”
The other two Charter officials are the city manager and the city attorney.
- “Compensation History — Since appointment to the role five years ago, the City Clerk has received only standard cost-of-living increases. No merit-based or equity-based adjustments have been made during that period.
- “Scope of Duties — The City Clerk’s role encompasses not only the core functions of the Clerk’s Office, but also the leadership of Internal Audit and Pension administration — an uncommon trifecta of responsibilities among municipal clerks.
- “Institutional Value — As the longest-serving Charter Official, the City Clerk provides continuity, institutional knowledge, and leadership that contribute meaningfully to the City’s governance and operations.”
That section added, “In light of these factors, a review and potential adjustment of the City Clerk’s compensation is recommended to ensure alignment with internal equity, responsibilities, and organizational value.”
The form further noted, “On November 4, 2019, the City Commission unanimously appointed Mrs. Shayla Griggs to the position of City Auditor and Clerk. Pursuant to her continued service in this Charter-designated role, Mrs. Griggs has submitted a request for review and consideration of an Amended Employment Agreement.
“The proposed Amended Employment Agreement outlines updated terms and conditions of employment for the City Auditor and Clerk. This item is presented for Commission discussion.”
Most recently, in May, after expressing frustration over what they agreed was a lack of transparency for the public in regard to the search for a new city manager — with City Manager Marlon Brown having retired in mid-October 2024 — the commissioners asked Griggs and City Attorney Joe Polzak to take over the handling of the initiative. (See the related article in this issue.)
Promotion followed investigation of previous city auditor and clerk
In early 2019, the City Commission voted 4-1 to ask then-City Auditor and Clerk Pam Nadalini to tender her resignation in writing by 5 p.m. on Jan. 15. Nadalini had been city auditor and clerk since February 2010. The action came after complaints from numerous staff members, who had alleged her mistreatment of them over the years. Finally, the commissioners had called for a formal investigation by attorneys with Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick in Sarasota.
Nadalini’s salary at the time she was asked to leave city employment was $181,493.94, then-city Communications Specialist Jason Bartolone told The Sarasota News Leader.
Griggs, who had been serving as deputy city auditor and clerk, was appointed interim city auditor and clerk on Dec. 3, 2018.
Then, in early March 2019, the commissioners talked with Stacie Mason, director of the city’s Human Resources Department, about hiring an executive search firm to provide candidates to replace Nadalini.
Mason estimated that it would take six months to find a new city auditor and clerk.
Finally, on Oct. 11, 2019, the commissioners offered the position to Griggs.
Then-Commissioner Willie Shaw pointed out to his fellow commissioners that, over the previous 10 months, they had had the opportunity to observe how Griggs handled her own responsibilities and interactions with other city staff members. “[She] has done, to my observation, an outstanding job,” Shaw added.
“I probably spend as much time as any of you in the Office of the City Auditor and Clerk,” he told his board colleagues. “The amount of change in morale has been extremely high.”
Griggs and her staff have met all necessary deadlines and expectations put upon them, Shaw further noted.
During the past 10 months, he said, the Office of the City Auditor and Clerk had completed audits on the operations of the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, the city’s Utilities Department, the Sarasota Police Department’s Property and Evidence Division, and state housing initiatives. “All of these audits have been well received and taken care of. I just think it’s time that we as a commission make a decision on the appointment of Mrs. Griggs from interim to city auditor and clerk,” Shaw added.
Salary comparisons
When Griggs formally was appointed city auditor and clerk on Nov. 4, 2019, the contract that the commissioners approved called for “an annual salary review at the same time as general employees are considered for salary review.” That was to be handled in the context of a City Charter provision for an annual review of each Charter Official.
Her base salary in her contract was $160,000. The contract also called for her to receive a vehicle allowance of $600 per month.
On May 20, when the city commissioners hired Dave Bullock, the former Longboat Key town manager, as the interim city manager, his contract called for an annual salary of $228,000.
In January 2021, when the commissioners formally hired Marlon Brown as the new city manager, to succeed Tom Barwin, they agreed to pay him $196,500, at Brown’s request. His proposed employment contract offered a base bay of $204,000. He also received a $600 monthly vehicle allowance.
Brown had been deputy city manager since July 2009 when he was named interim city manager on Dec. 7, 2020, after Barwin announced his retirement.
This week, The Sarasota News Leader filed a public records request with the city to learn the salaries of a number of department directors. However, the publication had received no response to that request by the deadline for this issue.