City Executives' Six-Figure Salaries Remain Despite Deficit

Salaries for San Marino’s executive managers—some of whom work part-time—are staying at the same six-figure rate they have since the 2009-2010 fiscal year, San Marino Finance Director Lisa Bailey told Patch Tuesday.

These salaries aren’t the only things remaining—so is San Marino’s shortage of funds.

Patch shared the following projections in March for net changes in the city’s unrestricted fund balance for the next five fiscal years, according to the city's budget. All show negative balances except for the 2014-15 fiscal year.

2010-11

2011-12

2012-13

2013-14

2014-15

-$175,505

-$193,836

-$171,189

-$103,479

$154,080

A financial transparency report on the city’s website (see the full report in the PDF above) includes the following key information:

• The aforementioned executive managers—city manager, assistant city manager, finance director, planning and building director and community services director—each earn over $100,000 a year and in the case of the city manager, closer to $200,000 a year.
• The addition of retirement benefits like the Public Employees Retirement System, for which employees contribute seven to nine percent of their pay, puts the city manager’s total compensation at $224, 269. The other city employees earn between $7,833 and $10,131 from PERS in addition to their $100,000-plus salaries.
• Assistant City Manager Cindy Collins, who works 88 percent of a full-time schedule—35.2 hours a week—earns a $127,368 salary. P.E.R.S. puts her total compensation at $136,284.
• Community Services Director Lucy Garcia works 50 percent of a full-time schedule—20 hours a week—according to the 2011-12 budget, but that was not noted on the financial transparency report. Garcia earns an $111,900 salary. P.E.R.S. puts her total compensation at $119,733.
• The executive managers received raises from the 2007-08 fiscal year through the 2009-10 fiscal year and their pay has stayed the same since then due to the “struggling economy”.
• City manager Matt Ballantyne’s salary of $192,096 was the only one that remained stagnant from the 2008-09 fiscal year to 2009-10.
• Ballantyne receives an automobile allowance of $600 per month.
• City council members, including the mayor, receive no compensation or fees for service to the city.

Despite the struggling economy, the city is considering $750,000 for City Hall renovations that would ideally be completed by , which kicks off July 4, 2012 and lasts until July 2013.

The city followed San Marino Councilman Dennis Kneier’s suggestion at a May city council meeting that the city not spend any money on City Hall renovations until the results of the public’s vote on the public safety tax in November. The tax comprises a third of the public safety budget so major cuts will need to be made if voters do not approve the tax.

The only executive manager taking a pay cut is , who is working less hours and dividing his time between the San Marino Police Department and the until a full-time fire chief can be found.

Schaefer said at the June 8 city council meeting that his salary is being cut in half, which would be a reduction of $80,334 according to the city’s compensation report salary of $160,668, but Schaefer presented at the same meeting that his salary cut combined with a reduction in cadet/Community Service Officer hours reduces the San Marino Police Department budget by $54,000.

Stay tuned for a Patch follow-up about how San Marino’s city employee salaries compare to those of other local cities of similar size.