The Place Where Ludington Talks
Calif City Council Deals With Inflated Salries Scandal
Thankfully this isn't happening in this area, at least not yet. Its
amazing that they thought they could keep people in the dark forever,
you'd think that they would of realized that sooner or later the public
finds out and they are not going to like it. Oh well, they are starting
to get their just deserts now! It was a nice paycheck while it lasted though.
Calif. council accepts resignations of 3 over salary flap
BELL, Calif. (AP) — Three administrators whose huge salaries sparked
outrage in this small blue-collar suburb of Los Angeles have agreed to
resign, the City Council said Friday.
Council members emerged from an hours-long closed session at midnight
Friday and announced that they'd accepted the resignations of Chief
Administrative Officer Robert Rizzo, Assistant City Manager Angela
Spaccia and Police Chief Randy Adams.
Rizzo was the highest paid at $787,637 a year — nearly twice the pay of
President Obama— for overseeing one of the poorest towns in Los Angeles
County.
Spaccia makes $376,288 a year and Adams earns $457,000, 50% more than Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck.
The three will not receive severance packages, the Los Angeles Times
reported Friday. Rizzo will step down at the end of August and Spaccia
will leave at the end of September. Adams will also leave at the end of
August, after completing an evaluation of the police department, the
Times said.
"I'm happy that they resigned but I'm disappointed at the pension that
they're going to receive," said Ali Saleh, a member of the Bell
Association to Stop the Abuse or BASTA.
Rizzo would be entitled to a state pension of more than $650,000 a year
for life, according to calculations made by the Times. That would make
Rizzo, 56, the highest-paid retiree in the state pension system.
Adams could get more than $411,000 a year.
Spaccia, 51, could be eligible for as much as $250,000 a year when she
reaches 55, though the figure is less precise than for the other two
officials, the Times said.
Saleh said the crowd applauded after the announcement but immediately
yelled out questions about what would happen to the council members.
Four of the five of them are paid close to $100,000 annually for
part-time work. When the crowd's questions were not answered, they
shouted, "Recall!, Recall!"
Revelations about the pay in Bell has sparked anger in the city of fewer
than 40,000 residents. Census figures from 2008 show 17% of the
population lives in poverty.
Enraged residents have staged protests demanding the firings and started a recall campaign against some council members.
"Woo-hoo, the salaries. Wow. What can I say? I think that's
unbelievable," Christina Caldera, a 20-year resident of the city, said
as she stood in line at a food bank.
Caldera, who is struggling after recently losing her job as a drug and
alcohol counselor, said she generally was satisfied with the way the
city was being run but felt high-paid officials should take a pay cut.
"What are they doing with all that money?" she asked. "Maybe they could put it into more jobs for other people."
Attempts to leave messages seeking comment from Rizzo and Spaccia failed
because their voicemails were full. A message left for Adams was not
immediately returned.
The county district attorney's office is investigating to determine if
the high salaries for the council members violate any state laws. The
City Council also intends to review city salaries, including those of
its own members, according to Councilman Luis Artiga and Mayor Oscar
Hernandez.
"We are going to analyze all the city payrolls and possibly will revise all the salaries of the city," Artiga said.
However, both men said they considered the City Council pay to be justified.
"We work a lot. I work with my community every day," the mayor said, as
he shook hands with and embraced people leaving the food bank Thursday.
Council members are on call around the clock, and it is not uncommon for
them to take calls in the middle of the night from people reporting
problems with city services, Artiga said.
Though many residents are poor, Hernandez said they live in a city they
can be proud of, one with a $22.7 million budget surplus, clean streets,
refurbished parks and numerous programs for people of all ages. He
pointed proudly down a street to a park filled with new exercise
equipment.
When Rizzo arrived 17 years ago, Hernandez said, the city was $13
million in debt and on the verge of bankruptcy. Rizzo obtained
government grants to aid the city, the mayor said.
Rizzo was arrested near his home in Huntington Beach in March and
charged with misdemeanor drunken driving. He pleaded not guilty and is
due back in court for an Aug. 5 hearing, said Farrah Emami, a
spokeswoman for the Orange County district attorney's office.
The Los Angeles Times reported the salaries last week, prompting a large
protest Monday at City Hall in which residents shouted and demanded
that Rizzo be fired.
California Attorney General Jerry Brown said his office has launched an
investigation in conjunction with the state's public employee retirement
agency into pension and related benefits for Bell's civic leaders.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material
may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-07-23-california-school-sa...
amazing that they thought they could keep people in the dark forever,
you'd think that they would of realized that sooner or later the public
finds out and they are not going to like it. Oh well, they are starting
to get their just deserts now! It was a nice paycheck while it lasted though.
Calif. council accepts resignations of 3 over salary flap
BELL, Calif. (AP) — Three administrators whose huge salaries sparked
outrage in this small blue-collar suburb of Los Angeles have agreed to
resign, the City Council said Friday.
Council members emerged from an hours-long closed session at midnight
Friday and announced that they'd accepted the resignations of Chief
Administrative Officer Robert Rizzo, Assistant City Manager Angela
Spaccia and Police Chief Randy Adams.
Rizzo was the highest paid at $787,637 a year — nearly twice the pay of
President Obama— for overseeing one of the poorest towns in Los Angeles
County.
Spaccia makes $376,288 a year and Adams earns $457,000, 50% more than Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck.
The three will not receive severance packages, the Los Angeles Times
reported Friday. Rizzo will step down at the end of August and Spaccia
will leave at the end of September. Adams will also leave at the end of
August, after completing an evaluation of the police department, the
Times said.
"I'm happy that they resigned but I'm disappointed at the pension that
they're going to receive," said Ali Saleh, a member of the Bell
Association to Stop the Abuse or BASTA.
Rizzo would be entitled to a state pension of more than $650,000 a year
for life, according to calculations made by the Times. That would make
Rizzo, 56, the highest-paid retiree in the state pension system.
Adams could get more than $411,000 a year.
Spaccia, 51, could be eligible for as much as $250,000 a year when she
reaches 55, though the figure is less precise than for the other two
officials, the Times said.
Saleh said the crowd applauded after the announcement but immediately
yelled out questions about what would happen to the council members.
Four of the five of them are paid close to $100,000 annually for
part-time work. When the crowd's questions were not answered, they
shouted, "Recall!, Recall!"
Revelations about the pay in Bell has sparked anger in the city of fewer
than 40,000 residents. Census figures from 2008 show 17% of the
population lives in poverty.
Enraged residents have staged protests demanding the firings and started a recall campaign against some council members.
"Woo-hoo, the salaries. Wow. What can I say? I think that's
unbelievable," Christina Caldera, a 20-year resident of the city, said
as she stood in line at a food bank.
Caldera, who is struggling after recently losing her job as a drug and
alcohol counselor, said she generally was satisfied with the way the
city was being run but felt high-paid officials should take a pay cut.
"What are they doing with all that money?" she asked. "Maybe they could put it into more jobs for other people."
Attempts to leave messages seeking comment from Rizzo and Spaccia failed
because their voicemails were full. A message left for Adams was not
immediately returned.
The county district attorney's office is investigating to determine if
the high salaries for the council members violate any state laws. The
City Council also intends to review city salaries, including those of
its own members, according to Councilman Luis Artiga and Mayor Oscar
Hernandez.
"We are going to analyze all the city payrolls and possibly will revise all the salaries of the city," Artiga said.
However, both men said they considered the City Council pay to be justified.
"We work a lot. I work with my community every day," the mayor said, as
he shook hands with and embraced people leaving the food bank Thursday.
Council members are on call around the clock, and it is not uncommon for
them to take calls in the middle of the night from people reporting
problems with city services, Artiga said.
Though many residents are poor, Hernandez said they live in a city they
can be proud of, one with a $22.7 million budget surplus, clean streets,
refurbished parks and numerous programs for people of all ages. He
pointed proudly down a street to a park filled with new exercise
equipment.
When Rizzo arrived 17 years ago, Hernandez said, the city was $13
million in debt and on the verge of bankruptcy. Rizzo obtained
government grants to aid the city, the mayor said.
Rizzo was arrested near his home in Huntington Beach in March and
charged with misdemeanor drunken driving. He pleaded not guilty and is
due back in court for an Aug. 5 hearing, said Farrah Emami, a
spokeswoman for the Orange County district attorney's office.
The Los Angeles Times reported the salaries last week, prompting a large
protest Monday at City Hall in which residents shouted and demanded
that Rizzo be fired.
California Attorney General Jerry Brown said his office has launched an
investigation in conjunction with the state's public employee retirement
agency into pension and related benefits for Bell's civic leaders.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material
may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-07-23-california-school-sa...
Views: 52
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by XLFD on
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Thank you for the local flavor on the national scene, Dave. For those who are interested, the last charter written for Ludington left our elected executive and legislative officers at a very modest salary:
Section 17.10. Continuance of salary of Mayor and Council Members:
The Mayor shall continue to receive an annual salary in the amount of Three Hundred Dollars ($300), and each Council Member shall continue to receive an annual salary of Fifty Dollars ($50), until such amounts are changed by the Council in accordance with the provisions of this Charter.
Adopted: August 4, 1992
Gerry Perhson Klaft
City Clerk
City of Ludington
Thus in mid 1992, the total salary for our mayor and seven councilors was $300 + 7*50 = $650. A great bargain for the people. Let's take a look at the 2010 budget for the salaries of mayor and the city council. Since at least 2007, the salaries and wages of these eight folks have been totalled at $30,000.
From 1992 the inflation rate overall has been:
Going from $650 to $30,000 ( a 4615% increase in salary, that's right four thousand six hundred fifteen percent increase) during a period where inflation was in the low forties. Lets see, the mayor should have been making around $430 in 2007, and the councilors should be at $72 apiece. Anyone ever remember seeing them raise their salaries in an open session of a city council meeting? Anyone?
Bell, California shows its not implausible for this to happen anywhere, particularly where there is a major disconnect between the city government and the people they elect to serve them.
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Permalink Reply by Edie Lindsey on
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If the wages and salaries of the Ludington mayor and city council continue to grow at the same rate over the 15 years after 2007, as it did between the 15 years you documented, they will be receiving $1,384,616 in 2022. Let's find out when and why this rate jumped so drastically.
Either that or I'll see you in Bell.
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Follow up: California Attorney General Jerry Brown has started the ball rolling on getting these crooks to pay for their corruption. Hope California strengthens its laws to thwart such malfeasance in the future. I only hope Michigan's AG also cracks down on small town shenanigans in this state.
California AG sues over California town's municipal salaries - CNN_...
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