To: Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council
From: Liz Habkirk, Assistant City Manager
Prepared By: Caitlin Saldanha, Management Analyst II
TITLE:
Title
Appointment of City Attorney and City Attorney Employment Agreement
LABEL
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommendation
Adopt a resolution appointing Renee Giacomini Brewer as City Attorney effective August 24, 2026 and approving and authorizing the Mayor to execute an Employment Agreement between the City of Napa and Renee Giacomini Brewer.
Body
DISCUSSION:
City Charter Section 75 authorizes the City Council to appoint the City Attorney. Following the retirement of former City Attorney, Michael Barrett, the City Council designated an Ad Hoc Advisory Subcommittee consisting of Mayor Sedgley and Councilmember Luros to guide the City Manager and Interim Human Resources Director during the City Attorney recruitment process.
On June 2, 2026, the City Council met in closed session to discuss terms of appointment for a City Attorney, and the City Council interviewed Renee Giacomini Brewer as a candidate. During that closed session, the City Council directed staff to return to a public meeting for action to appoint Renee Giacomini Brewer as City Attorney.
Ms. Brewer is a public agency attorney and is currently serving as Assistant County Counsel for the County of Marin. Ms. Brewer first started at the County of Marin in 1995, and she has been providing legal services to the County of Marin for more than three decades. Ms. Brewer is looking forward to the opportunity to serve in her new role as City Attorney for the City of Napa.
Consistent with the direction from City Council, and consistent with the terms of employment for the City Attorney position as previously authorized by the City Council, the City Manager and Interim Human Resources Director successfully negotiated terms of employment with Ms. Brewer to serve as City Attorney, as documented in the attached resolution.
If adopted by the City Council, the proposed resolution would appoint Renee Giacomini Brewer as City Attorney effective August 24, 2026. The contract will be for an initial term of three years, at which time the Council would consider an extension of Ms. Brewer's appointment. Ms. Brewer’s annual salary will be $290,000.
FINANCIAL IMPACTS:
The City Attorney's Office adopted budget for FY2026/27 includes salary and benefits sufficient for the proposed contract with Ms. Brewer. No additional financial impacts to the budget are anticipated.
CEQA:
The City Manager has determined that the recommended actions described in this agenda report are not subject to CEQA, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines 15060 (c).
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
ATCH 1 - Resolution
EX A - City Attorney Employment Agreement
NOTIFICATION:
None.