Vallejo Officials Get Generous, Retroactive Raises While City Is in Bankruptcy. Three city workers in Vallejo are getting sizeable raises despite the fact that the city has declared bankruptcy. Fire Chief Russ Sherman is getting a 4.67 increase in base salary, retroactive for eight months, while City Engineer David Kleinschmidt and Building Official Gary West each will enjoy a 12.5 percent pay hike, retroactive to July 1, 2008. Vallejo's mayor and City Council members said they do not approve of the raises and, in fact, did not know about them until they were contacted by the media. The raises apparently were approved under a labor union contract that was enacted earlier this year. "When a particular position is determined to be substantially under the average, our agreement gives us the opportunity to request that the city look at that and make that adjustment," Mr. Kleinschmidt said. (Cal-Tax: And some people still insist on blaming local governments' financial problems on Proposition 13!) (Source: Vallejo Times-Herald, June 19.)
Cal-Taxletter, June 26, 2009
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