Lance Fernork Posts - Vree Speaks

Vreeman is my hero! He's such a fiscal conservative, until it comes to spending a quarter of a million dollars on a taj mahal at the OWWTP when EVERYONE said it was a mistake. Or, how about the diesel refinery that has cost the city $135,000+ for an illegal hole in the ground. hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Oh yea! Putting a second AND third bond on the poop factory. Why? To debt service the first, then debt service the first and second, then, oops, no more leverage available, time to raise sewer fees.
And the Frontierland Park fund. Where's that money gone.
And, wasn't it Nihart that pushed for rolling back the automatic payraises council voted for themselves, back to the 2006 level? Lance thinks so.
What a showboat! Shilling for votes me thinks.

Submitted by: Lance Fernork


Some elected officials in San Mateo County take pay cuts, others getting raises

By Mike Rosenberg
San Mateo County Times

Posted: 11/24/2009 06:03:16 PM PST

Updated: 11/24/2009 08:24:16 PM PST

Elected officials in San Mateo County have responded to their respective budget crises by cutting employee wages or laying them off. But full-time politicians and part-time council members have a clear difference of opinion, however, when it comes to altering their own paychecks.

Some state legislators and City Council members have volunteered to reduce their own salaries, saying they want to share the pain of the budget cuts they are inflicting on employees and residents. Others, meanwhile, are set to increase their own pay or keep their salaries flat.

A politician's salary typically makes up far less than 1 percent of their government's overall spending. But with many leaders cutting employees' pay, laying off staff members, raising fees and cutting services, some taxpayers have called for leaders to give up parts of their income as a matter of principle.

"It is a reality that's certainly not lost on me," said Assemblyman Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo. He announced Monday he would lower his wages by another 10 percent. He has now slashed his $116,208 salary by 20 percent to $92,966 since the year began.
Fellow Assemblyman Ira Ruskin, D-Redwood City, quietly reduced his own $116,208 salary by 10 percent in February.
"He just thought it was the right thing to do and it was an issue he really believed in," said Karen Zamel, Ruskin's communications director.

State Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Mateo, meanwhile, has not voluntarily cut
his own pay but historically has declined any per diems while the Legislature works without passing a budget, said his spokesman, Adam Keigwin.

Pacifica Councilman Jim Vreeland said this week he would like council members to voluntarily reduce their salaries by 10 percent. The council is expected to discuss his proposal at a future meeting.

But not all local leaders have been in such giving moods this year.

San Mateo County supervisors are scheduled to get a 5 percent raise on Jan. 1, bumping their annual salaries to about $116,000. This year, they are making $110,448 in salary, said Deputy County Counsel Paul Okada. They also have free medical, dental and vision coverage and a $13,338 annual automobile mileage allowance.

The increase comes as part of a 2005 Board of Supervisors vote to hike their pay by 27 percent over a period of five years to bring their salaries in line with other Bay Area county supervisors. In 2005, supervisors made $81,515.
Besides the county supervisors, the only other county employees scheduled to get raises next year are sheriff's deputies and sergeants, said Human Resources Director Donna Vaillancourt.

In Foster City, meanwhile, council members voted earlier this year to hike their annual stipends by 5 percent, from $5,664 to $5,952, starting Dec. 7, when officials swear in their new leaders. It is their first increase since 1997, said City Clerk Doris Palmer.
Plenty of other leaders have opted to keep their salaries flat.

In Washington, U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough, has not volunteered to reduce her $174,000 pay, said spokesman Mike Larsen.
"You know it would just be political grandstanding," Larsen said of such a move. "It wouldn't really amount to anything substantial."
U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, said she voted to forego cost of living adjustments for all members of Congress for the next year, which she said was equivalent to a reduction in salary.
"That's a cut," she said.

Local City Council members have, for the most part, kept discussions on their salaries out of the limelight. Officials in Belmont, Burlingame, San Carlos, San Bruno, San Mateo and South San Francisco all said they have not changed their council's pay in several years.

"I used to joke when I was on the City Council that in those busy weeks that you're spending a lot of time on city stuff that it came out to about 50 cents an hour," said Belmont City Clerk Terri Cook. "It isn't about the money."

Staff writers Shaun Bishop and Aaron Kinney contributed to this report. Mike Rosenberg covers San Mateo, Burlingame, Belmont and transportation. Reach him at 650-348-4324.

COUNCIL SALARY CHANGES

City Current salary Old salary Salary changed
Belmont $4,680 N/A None in memory
Burlingame $7,080 $4,812 1999
Foster City $5,952 $5,664 Starts Dec. 7
Hillsborough No pay
Pacifica $8,400 $4,800 2001
San Carlos $3,600 N/A None in 22 years
San Bruno $5,832 $4,800 2001
San Mateo $7,200 $3,600 2002
South SF $6,000 $3,600 1997
Note: Some council members also receive bonuses for other duties, such as Redevelopment Agency service, and some receive access to other benefits such as medical.