by John Glidden | glid24@protonmail.com | June 13, 2026
VALLEJO – Deputy Police Chief Sanjay Ramrakha will make $276,593 in annual salary assisting in the overall management and administration of the Vallejo Police Department.
Ramrakha’s promotional offer letter, showing his new salary, was released to JohnGlidden.com via a public records request. He was promoted to the number two position in the department last month following the announcement that longtime police employee, Deputy Police Chief Bob Knight would be retiring over the summer.
Knight was officially promoted to the deputy police chief position in June 2025 after several years filling the second-in-command position following the departure of Deputy Police Chief Joseph Gomez in May 2024.
JohnGlidden.com also sought Knight’s promotional offer letter, which showed that when promoted to the permanent position he earned $263,422. Many city positions received a five percent salary increase in July 2025, which suggests that Knight and now, Ramrakha, earn the same salary. Both were placed on the fifth step of the five-step salary range.
Vallejo Police Chief Jason Ta benefited from the same five percent cost of living adjustment, which, for a time, made him the highest paid employee, by base salary, in the city.
The increased pushed Ta’s annual base salary to $309,484, which was about $6,484 higher than then-City Manager Andrew Murray’s $303,000 annual salary.
Murray never received a raise, with his brief two-year term as Vallejo’s CEO ending in April. The city announced on April 8 that Murray was resigning, a day after the city council met in closed session for more than four hours as they evaluated the city manager and city attorney positions, respectively. Murray signed a resignation and separation agreement on April 7 the same night of the closed session, allowing him to leave Vallejo with $128,352 in severance pay.
Meanwhile, Ta was named the permanent police chief in late 2024, two years after he became the interim following the sudden resignation of Chief Shawny Williams in November 2022.
However, despite the increase, Ta is not the highest paid city employee. That distinction continues to belong to Police Lt. Herman Robinson, who took home $518,750.68 in total pay in 2024, according to Transparent California. Robinson has been the highest paid Vallejo employee for multiple years.
Robinson received a base salary of $202,556, plus $303,680.00 in overtime, and $12,514.00 in “other pay,” the same online database shows. In addition, Robinson received $59,144 in benefits and $175,444 in pension debit for a total of $753,340 in pay and benefits for 2024.
Ta lost his top salary spot when the Vallejo City Council hired Harry Black as interim city manager last month. According to the employment terms, Black will earn a base annual salary of $340,432. He will also earn a $500/month auto allowance, and a $3,000/month housing allowance.
JohnGlidden.com 