The Albert Lea City Council last month unanimously approved a nearly 9 percent raise for City Manager Chad Adams.

Approval came during the council’s April 10 meeting. Albert Lea Mayor Vern Rasmussen Jr. said Adams’ salary increased from $124,000 to $135,000, noting the raise came after a market study and performance review were conducted. The raise was enacted so the city can compete salary-wise with local communities, Rasmussen said. He noted Adams’ position has slightly more responsibility than city administrator positions.

“We want to stay with Mr. (Chad) Adams,” he said.

“As new administrators are coming on, they are being hired at right around that area. Everybody’s a little bit different — some are a little higher and some are a little lower. The new ones are all getting hired at that area.”

Adams has met goals set by the council, Rasmussen said.

“Not only is he real active in the City Hall area of the city, but he is active out in the community, and that’s a piece that we also value,” he said.

Rasmussen said Adams has never received a similar raise in Albert Lea.

“We felt that if we did not do something like this, that we potentially would lose a valuable asset,” he said. “We have a lot of good things going on right now — we want to continue that ball rolling.”

The raise was retroactively approved for April 1.

Adams was hired as Albert Lea’s city manager in 2011 for $102,499. Previously the Medina city administrator, he was a finalist for the city manager position in Sedona, Arizona, in 2015, but did not receive the job.

He has a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and has two bachelor’s degrees from Minnesota State University in Marshall.