City manager pay

Dear Editor:In an article on the front page of The Downey Patriot recently, the wages of the city manager was posted. What does this mean, exactly? A report issed by the state Assembly Committee on Accountability and Administrative Review stated the real salaries of the top administration was reported by most cities on their websites but these sties were, many times, difficult to navigate and many cities didn't post complete information. The report states that city mangers' compensation can increase 40-240% if benefits are included. The state Supreme Court has ruled that this information must be available; the people's right to know how much these employees are being compensated overrides the individual's right to privacy. The prudence of these decisions is manifested by cities like Bell, South Gate and Vernon, among others. The publication of these nominal wages is better than nothing, but real compensation may be quite different. -- Russell Rankin, Downey

********** Published: September 30, 2010 - Volume 9 - Issue 24