Who Says LA’s Electeds are Overpaid

CONSIDER THIS-Everyone says that they pay too much in taxes and wish they could get more City services for less.  

Everyone thinks that our City’s employees are overpaid. Everyone says that the City has plenty of money,  is inefficient, wastes what money it has and it lets its employees shirk in their working tasks.  

Everyone says that our City employees are not only overpaid but they also get too much when they retire. 

Everyone knows that reforming Los Angeles’ Pension Plans is sorely needed.  Everyone can give you example after example to support these comments.

Have you spoken to these “everyone” persons? Lately?

Does “anyone” have any well-documented data to prove or disprove these comments? I certainly don’t but here is what I say in relation to the City of Los Angeles’ “Electeds.”  There are 18 LA Electeds: the Mayor, the City Controller, the City Attorney and the 15 Council Members. (Photo: City Councilman Tom LaBonge.)

First, regarding being overpaid … how do LA’s “Electeds” fare compare to similar positions in the private sector?  

When you include the DWP, Harbor and Airports (proprietary Departments), our City leaders are responsible for a $ 20 billion “company” and its $20 to $1,600 million (“1.6 billion dollar”) departments.  

These “Electeds” make “only” $150,000 to $ 350,000 in “regular salary.”  They have some perks. They have automobiles and drivers.  They get $10,000 to $15,000 worth of health and (term) insurance policies.  They don’t get stock bonuses.  Compared to the moguls of business, they are a bargain.  Viewed from the point of view of middle- and low-income LA citizens, they are fat cats.

These are not easy jobs.  While in office, “Electeds” are subject to the constant criticism of the public, the news media and their political opponents.  It may be this constant pressure from “outside” that results in relatively little direct debate or criticism between themselves.  

They require the constant care and feeding of their colleagues and campaign contributors to survive their next elections.  For the past decade, their largest campaign contributors have been the Los Angeles City Unions.  That explains a lot about the City’s current financial problems.  

Survival involves avoiding mistakes while in office.  It is not surprising that they do not introduce, support or advocate many changes (other than the ones they think got them elected in the first place).  Yet, survive they do as it is very difficult to unseat an incumbent.  Their war-chests are just too large.  Their successors tend to be their last Chiefs of Staff or returnees from the State Legislature and State Senate in Sacramento.  

I was surprised to read in the February 17 LA Times that (our last) mayor’s (Antonio Villaraigosa) financial condition was distracting him from running for U.S. Senator from California.  

The article says that Mr. Villaraigosa has supported himself between elected positions and implies that he is making good money, again, as a consultant to several large private businesses.  

It is impolite to question anyone’s’ personal finances but Mr. Villaraigosa is a Public figure, exempt from that courtesy.  His base salary as Mayor was $ 232,000 for the last eight years and, to his credit, he took a 10% decrease during the “Great Recession.”  He had no household expenses, living in Getty House (the mayor’s official residence).  His other personal expenses must have been enormous.  His friend, Assembly Member Fabian Nunez, has said, “He left the mayor’s office with just the clothes on his back…”  The article says that Mr. Villaraigosa now has a city pension of $ 97,832 per year.  Doesn’t he get a pension from his service in our City Council and the State Assembly, too? 

If we are going to reform our City Pension Plans, shouldn’t we start at the top?  Shouldn’t we combine the services of our “Electeds?” 

Among our current “Electeds,” only the City Controller, Ron Galperin, had no record of prior public employment. 

1. Mayor Garcetti was a City Council Member for 12 years.
2. Current City Attorney, Mike Feuer, was a City Councilman and State Assembly Member.
3. CD1 CM Gil Cedillo was a City CM Staff Member and State Assembly Member
4. CD2 CM Paul Krekorian was a State Assembly Member.
5. CD3 CM Bob Blumenfield was a State Assembly Members.
6. CD4 CM Tom Labonge worked for DWP and became Chief of Staff for CM John Ferraro.
7. CD5 CM Paul Koretz was a West Los Angeles City Council Member and a State Assemblyman.
8. CD6 CM Nury Martinez was a LAUSD Board Member and staff member for CD7 CM Richard Alarcon.
9. CD7 CM, Felipe Fuentes, was CM Alex Padilla’s Chief of Staff and a State Assemblyman.
10. CD8 CM, Bernard Parks, was a Policeman and Chief of LAPD. 
11. CD9 CM, Curren Price, was an Inglewood City Council Member and State Assembly Member.CD10 CM, Herb Wesson, worked for Supervisor Yvonne Burke, CM Nate Holden and was a State Assembly MemberCD11 CM, Mike Bonin, was Chief of Staff for CM Bill Rosendahl
12. CD12 CM, Mitch Englander, was Chief of Staff for CM Greig Smith
13. CD13 CM, Mitch O’Farrell, was a staff member for CM Eric Garcetti
14. CD14 CM, Jose Huizar, was a LAUSD Board Member
15. CD15, CM, Joe Buscaino, was a long-standing member of LAPD

I do not provide this list in order to criticize these people but to recognize the variety and extent of their Public Service.  

Our Current “Electeds” are career politicians.  Many, like Mr. Villaraigosa, have been elected and then not elected only to be elected, again.  

I believe that all of their service should be recognized and that they should be properly compensated for it.  I do not know the best way to quantitate and combine the appropriate components reflecting all for their public service into their pension benefits but I believe that this should be done, and soon.

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The pension plans of every employee, in both the public and private sectors, are fixed contracts signed when the employee is hired and fiercely protected by law during the employees’ working life.  Their does not seem to be much thought about the relative values of that employee during the times that they start and all the times they spend working their way up the organization’s ladder.  

I suggest that we define the “organization” as all of the governments in the State of California because pension plan law is a statewide issue.  

It almost seems that true pension reform will require that the City fire all of its employees, from top to bottom, pay their retirement benefits (due at that time) and then rehire them with a “new” Retirement Program.  

If that is to happen, we should start at the top. 

 

(Daniel Wiseman is a long-time Neighborhood activist and an occasional contributor to CityWatch.  He has served as an NC Budget Advocate.  The views expressed here are his own.)

-cw

 

 

 

CityWatch

Vol 13 Issue 15

Pub: Feb 20, 2015