McGrath’s raise merited, city says

City officials say the only connection between a raise for City Atty. Jennifer McGrath and her upcoming bankruptcy proceedings are sheer coincidence. When they voted to boost her salary in December, they didn’t know she had just filed for bankruptcy.

McGrath filed for bankruptcy Nov. 26.

McGrath’s new salary of $208,520 a year, an 11.3% increase, isn’t an arbitrary number, Councilman Keith Bohr said. It’s the amount consultants for the city said was the market rate for a city attorney with McGrath’s level of responsibility in comparable cities. And Bohr was the one who brought up the motion to boost her pay in December as the council voted on cost-of-living adjustments for several officials.

Bohr said he was skeptical last January of her request for a raise, but saw McGrath justify it over the year with better service for council members.

“She implemented monthly or quarterly lunches with council members and started giving monthly reports,” he said. “She constructively responded to my critique.”

Council members neither did nor could talk about a bankruptcy proceeding when considering a raise, Mayor Debbie Cook said.

“It’s not something you can consider in granting a raise to department head,” she said. “We can’t treat one person different from the next.”

As for the size of the salary, Bohr said a good city attorney was worth the price.

“It’s almost a 24-7 job,” he said. “She’s on call all the time on a lot of sticky issues.”

Efforts to reach McGrath were unsuccessful.