The City of Bell’s enormous compensation packages made national news. In the aftermath, California’s Controller announced that he will require California cities and counties “to clearly identify elected officials and public employees’ compensation” in reports that are due every October. The reported information will be posted online beginning in November. In his press release, the Controller stated that the “absence of transparency is a breeding ground for waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer dollars.”
Some cities, including the City of Riverside, are posting compensation information voluntarily. In an August 3, 2010 opinion article posted on The Press Enterprise’s website, Mayor Loveridge stated, “City Hall will be open and transparent for all of us.”
In this new age of “transparency”, I wonder if we will get the complete story.
Laguna Hills City Council candidate Barbara Kogerman commissioned a report that analyzed the 2009 compensation of City Managers in Orange County‘s 34 cities. The following excerpt is from her report, which was published earlier this year:
Unlike the more transparent compensation data involving City Managers’ base salary, their benefits packages are often difficult to ferret out, are obscure to the public, and offer a more stealthy way to overly-compensate a City Manager without raising public alarm.
The report showed that the average annual benefits package was $63,774, with three (or four; the report states three, but provides a list that shows four) exceeding $100,000.
Now, back to the City of Riverside.
A Press Enterprise article dated July 28, 2010 stated that the City Manager’s “$294,525 annual salary is augmented by $123,390 in benefits.” The benefits amount is not included in the information on the City’s website.
I am not a resident of the City of Riverside. I am a close neighbor and reside in the City’s Sphere of Influence. I am only using the City of Riverside as an example, although there are others from which to choose.
For example, San Bernardino‘s City Manager “makes $278,000 salary and $80,359 in benefits” according to the Press Enterprise. I haven’t found this information on the City’s website.
At least one city, however, is providing additional information. The City of Redlands posted salary and benefits information for over 20 executives and managers, although it hasn’t yet posted information on its City Council.
Counties are also starting to post compensation information. Riverside County posted the salaries paid to its Supervisors and CEO, along with benefits information.
I applaud the efforts to provide us taxpayers with more information, but we have to remain diligent and always dig deeper to make sure that we get the full story of how our tax dollars are being spent. If we disapprove of how our elected officials are spending our tax dollars, we need to let them know and hold them accountable.
On a side note, I found it interesting that both the Riverside and San Bernadino City Managers have higher salaries than all 34 of the Orange County City Managers analyzed in Kogerman’s report.
When I went to the City’ of Riverside’s website to view the salary amounts, I also noticed a link for the “Fringe Benefits & Salary Resolution”. Briefly scanning through this document reveals some of the benefits offered to the City Council and City Manager.
Note: This information is from the “City of Riverside Fringe Benefits and Salary Resolution” effective July 13, 2010. As stated in the City Manager’s leave section, this information could be different from what is in an employment contract.
City Manager’s time off
- 42 paid days off per year in addition to paid holidays
- can be cashed out if unused
- can accrue to 180 days
The City Manager shall receive forty-two (42) days of leave at the date of commencement of employment and an accrual of forty-two (42) days of leave each subsequent year thereafter, in addition to recognized city holidays, or as otherwise provided in an employment agreement. This paid leave is granted to City Manager in lieu of vacation and sick leave granted to the other executive management employees of the City. City Manager may use, accrue, or cash out the paid leave; provided, however, that City Manager may not accumulate more than one hundred eighty (180) days of leave. – Section 6 i.
Monthly Automobile Allowance – Table 7:
- City Manager 500.00
- Council Member 350.00
- Mayor 500.00
Health Insurance:
- The City pays up to 503.00 per pay period for the City Council members (see Table 8: Effective 12/1/09)
- The City pays 100% for the City Manager’s individual and family health and dental coverage
City shall pay for City Manager’s and the City Manager’s family contribution toward the health and dental insurance premiums from the City’s plans as elected by City Manager, or as otherwise provided in an employment agreement. – Section 16 g.
I didn’t include everything in the report such as deferred compensation, dental insurance, life insurance, etc., but you get the point.
How do your benefits compare?
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