City Manager Jeff Parker’s salary was the hot issue at the city council meeting last night. The city council awarded Parker a 3-percent cost of living adjustment ( $6,150) and a one-time 4-percent “pay for performance” bonus ($8,200). His salary is now $211,150, up from $205,000 last year.
Corey Calaycay did not support a bonus or the COLA increase.
Peter Yao only supported the cost of living increase but felt a bonus was not a responsible move right now.
“We put together a budget just a few months ago, 6 months ago, and we're not meeting the budget in terms of revenue coming in,” Yao said. “... I voted against [the bonus] simply because of the fact that I don't have money in the budget and I don't know where that money is coming from, and to spend money that I don't have isn't part of my job.”
Ellen Taylor, Linda Elderkin and Sam Pedroza weren’t so concerned about spending money that’s not available and voted in favor of the increase.
One might think, as a couple of speakers at the meeting touched on, that in the toughest economic times since the Great Depression, that the city council would put some added emphasis on fiscal prudence.
Nobody’s doubting Parker’s performance over the past year (save for a certain bulldozing incident), but when businesses are closing, auto sales are tanking, and city jobs and services might be threatened, the city should probably tuck away every dollar it has.
Parker did volunteer to hold off on the COLA increase for the first 90 days of 2009 while the city negotiates contracts with employee associations. The COLA increase is not being offered to city employees right now, and other benefits could also be taken away.
Tough times call for tough decisions. Let's hope our city council makes the right ones with our tax dollars.
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COLAs for people in the six-figure range? These days. You've got to be kidding.
ReplyDeleteI will only vote for a local politician who, in the next election, describes for us in dollars and cents the amount of _pay cut_ she/he is willing to work with. Then I'll start looking at other criteria.
If they won't accept at least a 10-percent pay cut from the current pay-grade of the position they want, they won't get me to even entertain voting for them.