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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council unanimously approved a new employment service contract for the city manager at its Thursday night meeting.
City Manager Alan Flora, who has served in the position for seven years, will continue in the role for another three years.
The new agreement runs from Thursday through April 2, 2029, with a monthly salary of $18,271.10 – a 3% increase from Flora’s previous rate of $17,738.93, according to City Attorney Scott Drexel at the council meeting. That amounts to a monthly increase of $537.17, or $6,385.97 annually.
Flora will also receive a 3% salary increase beginning on July 1, 2027, subject to a positive council evaluation and the local economic benchmark being met.
Drexel outlined the health care, retirement and other benefits under the contract, including a $400 monthly vehicle and cellphone stipend, 120 hours of vacation, 120 hours of executive leave and 96 hours of sick leave.
Drexel added that Flora’s severance is capped at a 12 months of his base salary plus accrued vacation.
No public comment was received and the council approved unanimously.
“I know it's been a journey this past year working with you, Alan,” said Vice Mayor Tara Downey, adding that they had some “ups and downs.”
“But I think we're moving in the right direction,” she added. “We found a common ground with a lot of things lately, and so I'm excited to be working with you.”
Closed-session evaluations of Flora in 2025
Downey’s comments signaled a shifting tone at City Hall compared with last year when Flora’s continued service was in question.
With three newly elected council members – Downey, Mary Wilson and Jessica Hooten – taking office in 2025, Flora underwent six closed-session evaluations that year, tripling the number in 2024.
The fourth evaluation was a special meeting held May 29, with a single agenda item: reviewing Flora’s performance. The session drew 38 members of the public and eight letters, the vast majority expressing support for Flora and praising his leadership, hard work, transparency and impact on the city.
Supporters included local officials, business leaders, educators, health care representatives and city staff.
The only speakers directly opposing Flora were connected to Highlands Mutual Water District, which had been involved in litigation with the city since early 2024.
That dispute appeared to be a key factor in the threat to Flora’s tenure, as well as contributed to a field of eight candidates running for city council in 2024 – the largest in decades – several reportedly backed by Highlands Mutual.
In November of that election year, Downey, Hooten, and Wilson were elected over incumbents David Claffey, Joyce Overton and Russell Perdock.
Perdock, who also spoke during the special meeting, said the water district told its staff to campaign for the council challengers. He also recounted that Flora, while representing the city at a March 2024 meeting addressing safety issues with the water district, was escorted out with the door locked behind him.
The subsequent closed session, after 90 minutes of public comment, produced no action. Lake County News reported that Downey emerged alone from the city offices after the council had been in closed session for an hour.
Flora advocates for city in county disputes and sewer oversight
As part of his role, Flora frequently serves as the city’s voice in dealings with other local agencies, including Lake County government.
Lately, he has spoken at the Lake County Board of Supervisors multiple times on behalf of the city, notably following the three-million-gallon Robin Lane sewer spill in January, caused by a rupture in a county-operated sewer system within city limits.
Since the spill on Jan. 11, Flora has voiced frustration with Lake County Special Districts, which oversees wastewater systems, and called for closer scrutiny of the department’s transparency and management.
Flora appeared at the Board of Supervisors’ latest meeting to speak against a proposed 120% service fee increase for the Southeast Wastewater region, which includes Clearlake. He also cited the City Council’s November decision to rescind the delegation of authority to the Board of Supervisors to serve as the Lake County Sanitation District’s board of directors.
“All actions since the withdrawal delegation on Nov. 25 can be considered invalid, including your direction today on rate increases,” Flora said at the board meeting.
Flora was initially limited to three minutes of public comment but returned after community member Margaux Kambara asked to offer her time — and was denied — and Supervisor Bruno Sabatier requested he finish, calling him “a partner of ours.”
Flora came back and finished his comment, which included criticism of Special Districts’ financial transparency.
With public opposition and supervisors’ concerns over the fee hike during a local emergency, the board reached a consensus to postpone discussion for six months.
At Thursday’s council meeting, Flora updated city leaders on the matter. Council Member Russ Cremer, who attended the board meeting, said Flora did “an excellent job.”
Flora previously worked for Lake County as a deputy administrative officer before joining Mendocino County as its assistant chief executive officer in late 2014. He later joined the city of Clearlake as finance manager in 2018, hired by then-City Manager Greg Folsom, who subsequently promoted him to assistant city manager.
In March 2019, after Folsom left for the city manager role in Suisun City, the Clearlake City Council appointed Flora as city manager for an initial three-year term. That contract was renewed in 2021 for an additional five years, ending last month.
Lingzi Chen is a staff reporter at Lake County News and a 2024-2026 California Local News Fellow. Email her at lchen@lakeconews.com.
