The real lowdown on council salaries (updated)

Oh, boo hoo.

In light of the recent Bell scandals, we’re getting sick and tired of hearing our own city council members always priding themselves (with no small degree of self-abnegation, of course) about how little they’re getting paid. You’d think it was a volunteer job the way one or two of them have been carrying on lately, in particular Jess Talamantes and Gary Bric.

One of the figures we’ve been hearing over and over from them is how they only get something like $1,200 a month each for all of this thankless work on behalf of the People. Dave Golonski laughingly quoted this figure a few months ago as if it were a pittance and a bother to him, and the rest of the poor dears all sat there sighing along with him (except, as usual, Dr. Gordon).

Naturally, none of them have been telling the public the whole story, and if you knew how much they really got in total remuneration then the only conclusion you’d come to is that they must think we’re stupid out here. Or at least their staff does, the ones who feed them these bogus numbers with a smile. So let’s break it down a bit by the use of published data from a few years back, and which does not appear on the city’s new self-congratulatory web page on salaries.

Working from year 2005 numbers– the latest we can get– each council member received $975 a month back then, for an annual total of $11,134. That’s pretty tough, eh, considering that Glendale next door gets something like $30,000 a year, and Bell an amount that was somewhere close to infinity?

Not so fast. Here’s an excerpt from another local blog about these civically-minded pobrecitos of ours. Hang on to your handkerchiefs:

After the debacle in the City of Bell, I dropped a note to Burbank’s Public Information Officer, Keith Sterling, and asked what city officials made.

Each Councilmember in Burbank receives a salary of $12,899 a year. Not close to the $100,000 a year they were making in Bell, and not really that much when you consider how much a Councilmember does in this city.

Besides the Tuesday night council meeting that you see, they are there many hours in advance in closed sessions, besides the amount of research and paperwork that are sent to every member before meetings. Add to this all of the events that they get to and you see that this money is well earned.

Of course, the Mayor at the time, who receives no extra money, is at EVERY event during that year, sometimes as many as 250 in a year. You will never hear any complaints either, because they really are trying to do the right thing for the citizens in Burbank. Decisions aside that you may agree or disagree with, these people earn their pay.

Excuse us while we dab our eyes. How can the poor things even find the wherewithal to get up in the morning?

Like a lot of things in town, this summary is complete b.s., which should be no surprise considering that it came out of the Public Information Office. There’s a whole lot more to the real story that even our 2005 numbers play down. So in addition to these pitiful salaries, the council also receives:

1) Extensive health and welfare benefits, including family,

2) A car allowance that varies according to position,

3) Life insurance,

4) An annual medical exam,

5) Generous pension benefits for a part-time job, and

6) Assorted other goodies that are lumped together in a small total.

In 2005 the council members received health and dental benefits that cost the city $8,445 a year each. The mayor received a $185 monthly car allowance, the vice-mayor got $145, and the rank and file members got $125. Along with a few others not mentioned, the total amount of these fringe benefits–not counting the car allowance– was $11,134, an amount that with the car allowance included well exceeded their annual base salary!

And remember, these numbers are five years old. Bennies like health insurance have skyrocketed in the interval even if their salaries haven’t. And although the council can opt-out of getting their own health benefits, we’re not aware of anyone who has done so (like who in their right mind would these days?)

The only time in fact that we’ve ever heard of a council member refusing to take a fringe benefit is back when Ted McConkey was first elected in 1995. In that case he refused to collect the car allowance because he was lobbying to get rid of it. But when this reform idea went nowhere he soon said to hell with it, and after a year or so he began to get paid for keeping his old car on the road.

“I’m not stupid,” he told us the time, about why he’d changed his mind.

Well some of the rest of us aren’t either. So the next time the council-majority tries to tell us about how little they’re getting paid for putting up with this major aggravation from the rest of us, just remember that their fringe benefits are bigger than their salaries.

Still got those hankies? Here’s the rest of that forlorn article:

Burbank’s City Manager, Mike Flad receives a salary of $217,799 for his duties. I think it is sad that we need to report that in public but after the Bell problems, citizens of Burbank should know that he receives one fourth of the salary as the Bell City Manager for a population three times larger than Bell’s.

Many ordinary citizens do not know Flad, although he grew up here in Burbank and worked his way up through the Park & Recreation Dept. He is not looking for publicity, but you will find him at most events to support many different groups.

You may also think he makes a lot of money for a public employee, but you have to remember he has a 24/7 job, and running a city the size of Burbank is like running a major corporation. Not only does he need to know about what challenges there are daily, he has to know how to negotiate labor contracts for different unions as well as keep on top of al other legal matters, such as the problems currently facing the police department.

Flad is also very approachable and any time I have talked with him he is very knowledgeable about all subjects and will always give you a straight answer. He has an entire city to watch over, as well as the welfare of all the citizens and between himself and his deputies, does an outstanding job.

So while it is to bad that we need to talk about salaries, it is still the publics right to know where their money is being spent. When you look at how the recession has hit many cities, with layoffs and many services decreased, you will see that money is well spent when you consider the state of the City of Burbank and the people who lead it.

Somebody actually wrote this last summer.

**UPDATE**

Somebody just noticed that we left out money. The council members also get $25 a piece for each Redevelopment Agency meeting. So those 30-second spots once or twice a month gets them some extra dough on top of the rest. Plus all that Gourmet 88, or wherever they go now at break.