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Crescent City Harbormaster Tim Petrick will receive a salary increase along with a one-time performance incentive.

But though he had two successful performance reviews, commissioners decided that Petrick’s bonus will be half the 6 percent his employment contract calls for, citing the harbor’s current financial situation.

“The time [Tim] spends in the harbor is very extensive,” Commissioner Rick Shepherd said Tuesday. “The amount of time he puts into this harbor is invaluable to me, I think, because I’m not going to do it and nobody else is going to do it. He’s brought a lot to this harbor.”

Four commissioners approved increasing Petrick’s salary to $134,150.50, which would include a base salary of $125,000, a 4.2 percent cost of living adjustment and a 3 percent performance incentive.

According to Ruben Duran, the Harbor District’s legal counsel, Petrick’s 3 percent performance incentive equates to $4,157.50.
Commissioner Brian Stone was absent.

The Board of Commissioners conducted two performance reviews during closed session meetings in February 2023 and last month. However, they’re required to discuss compensation during a meeting that’s open to the public, Assistant Harbormaster Mike Rademaker said.

The Crescent City Harbor District hired Petrick as harbormaster in July 2021 after his predecessor Charlie Helms retired.
Petrick had been serving as deputy harbormaster since September 2020 relocating to Crescent City from the Bay Area where he had been harbormaster for the Richmond Yacht Club Harbor for two years.

The Harbor District’s executive summary on Tuesday stated that Petrick’s Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in maritime transportation along with his more-than 2,000 “sea service” days makes him one of the “most highly qualified individuals” to have been Crescent City harbormaster.

According to the executive summary, Petrick brought the district back into compliance with auditing requirements and strengthened internal financial controls. He helped secure $15 million in grant funding for infrastructure — “possibly the greatest dollar amount of grant funding ever received by CCHD … that was not tied to a natural disaster.”

The executive summary also mentioned “extremely challenging legal situations” Petrick helped the Harbor District get through.

According to Rademaker, Duran’s legal firm, Best, Best & Krieger, LLP, prepared most of the executive summary. Rademaker said he was asked for feedback on some of Petrick’s milestones.

Two members of the public took issue with the executive summary’s description of Petrick’s achievements at the Harbor District. Linda Sutter, who ran for the Harbor District Board in 2022 and the District 5 seat on the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors earlier this year, stated the Board of Commissioners overlooked “improprieties of his conduct.”

Sutter mentioned the 2023-24 Del Norte County Grand Jury report, which described an investigation into staff credit card use at the harbor as well as its compliance with annual audit requirements.

She also opposed the annual 5 percent increases to his salary Petrick has received since he was hired and urged commissioners to place a wage freeze on him until the district is financially stable.

“And let’s not forget the United States has a looming recession,” she said. “Please use professional logical thought regarding this matter. Don’t place the harbor in anymore financial distrust — what would Donald Trump do in this matter?”

Sandy Moreno, a local bookkeeper, said Petrick hasn’t always had a positive relationship with the Board of Commissioners. However, she credited him connecting the Harbor District with “good professionals” like Moffatt & Nichol, the architect firm spearheading the Citizens Dock rebuild.

But Moreno also brought up the settlement payments the Harbor District is paying to the owners of Fashion Blacksmith, which had operated a shipyard at the harbor for more than 40 years up until June 30, 2024. She said Petrick behaved like a bully.

“I don’t know what to say,” Moreno said. “I think he’s well worth $125,000 or $130,000 because of all the grants he’s brought in, but I see this really bad part of him that I think puts us in a liability issue, which really concerns me.”

In its report, Del Norte County Grand Jury members stated they received a formal complaint in 2021 of at least one occasion where a harbor district staff member used a CCHD credit card for a personal travel expense. When the alleged misuse occurred, the Harbor District didn’t have a formal credit card policy and though the expense was allegedly reimbursed, the Harbor District didn’t have receipts of that reimbursement.

The Grand Jury also stated that the Harbor District failed to undergo financial audits for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 fiscal years.  However, as of 2024, the district’s audits are up to date, according to the Grand Jury report.

On Tuesday, Petrick said he would submit a formal credit card policy to the Harbor District Board of Commissioners by its Aug. 20 meeting. He said his goal is to meet the findings laid out in the Grand Jury report by the Board’s second meeting in August or its first meeting in September.

In response to Petrick’s proposed salary increase, Shepherd’s colleague, Wes White also cited the Harbor District’s financial situation, saying he couldn’t agree to a 6 percent performance incentive.

However, White also praised Petrick’s performance since becoming harbormaster.

“I look at $15 million of new grants he has brought in,” White said. “And Mike Bahr confirmed with me that some of that probably would not have come in had it not been for Mr. Petrick sitting in that seat.”

White agreed to the 3 percent performance incentive.

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