Beaumont Observations............

                 The REAL cost of a City Manager

                (or a comparison to George Orwell’s classic observations in “Animal Farm”)

   ..first the employment agreement        http://www.ci.beaumont.ca.us/DocumentCenter/Home/View/2795



Im not sure why the comparison chart used (see link above) compares City Managers compensation’s from cities/County  with populations as few as 5000 or as high as 1.9 million, so I will stick to a few thousand more or less in my example below.  (all figures are from http://lgcr.sco.ca.gov/CompensationDetail.aspx?entity=City&id=11983317100&year=2010&GetCsu=False)

City of Coachella
Population: 42,591 (as of June 30, 2010)

 

Department

Classification

Multiple Positions

Annual Salary Minimum

Annual Salary Maximum

Total Wages Subject to Medicare (Box 5 of W-2)

Applicable Defined Benefit Pension Formula

Employees' Share of Pension Contributions

Deferred Compensation

Health, Dental, Vision

City Administration City Manager  —   $220,000 $220,000 $122,005 3%@60 $26,153 $5,500 $2,910

City Administration Interim City Manager  —   $192,000 $192,000 $112,000  —    —    —    —  

City of Banning
Population: 28,751 (as of June 30, 2010)

City Manager City Manager  —   $154,183 $208,600 $281,394 2.5%@55 $15,023  —   $13,660

City of La Quinta
Population: 44,421 (as of June 30, 2010)

City Manager City Manager  —   $240,000 $240,000 $267,401 2.5@55 $18,655  —   $12,839

City of Lake Elsinore
Population: 50,983 (as of June 30, 2010)

City Manager City Manager  —   $185,000 $185,000 $201,743 2.5% @ 55 $14,060  —   $17,623

City of Norco
Population: 27,370 (as of June 30, 2010)

Administration City Manager  —   $165,813 $165,813 $165,813 2.7@55 $12,659 $2,435 $15,59

City of Palm Desert
Population: 52,067 (as of June 30, 2010)

City Manager City Manager/Executive Director-Redevelopment  —   $219,294 $219,294 $230,221 2.7% @ 55 $16,579  —   $16,290

City of Palm Springs
Population: 48,040 (as of June 30, 2010)

City Manager City Manager  —   $281,707 $281,707 $281,707 2.7% @ 55 $22,257 $7,500 $6,377

City of San Jacinto
Population: 36,933 (as of June 30, 2010)

Administration City Manager  —   $206,935 $206,935 $198,910 2.7% @ 55 $15,913  —   $16,299

City of Wildomar
Population: 31,907 (as of June 30, 2010)

City Manager City Manager  —   $179,000 $179,000 $186,222 2.7% @ 55 $14,898  —    —

City of Beaumont
Population: 34,217 (as of June 30, 2010)

Administrative Services Assistant City Manager  —   $151,153 $193,502 $193,233 3% @ 60 $42,498 $5,025 $5,970

                         *values from Employment  Agreement    http://www.ci.beaumont.ca.us/DocumentCenter/Home/View/2795

 

Administrative Services City Manager  —        ?      ? 218,000 3% @ 60 $68,000** **********      ??

                    ** this value is  comparative to other City of Beaumont employee pay scale

*********   This is where it gets VERY interesting!!  According to the Employment Agreement (Link above)....

                      It would seem that the value of  ********  would be 10% of the base salary of $218,920.  Here

is the wording of the  MOU  (Memorandum of Understanding) between the City and its Employees AT the
time  employment started, with regard to Deferred Compensation... (Remember “Animal Farm”  and the
First Commandment?  ALL ANIMALS ARE CREATED EQUAL

http://www.ci.beaumont.ca.us/index.aspx?NID=224

Deferred Compensation:  The City offers a 457 plan that the employee may elect to contribute portions of their bi-weekly payroll into.  The employee may also elect to have medical, dental, and/or vision premiums, up the the employee only rate, deposited into this account as well if they choose not to elect those coverages.  The City will match the employee's contribution up to $5,000 per year.  The employee must make arrangements with the Human Resources Department to enroll in such plan

 So now we have the 10%  ( $21,882) that the City is obligated to match up to $5000 in Deferred Compensation.
But dont forget that additional premiums may be added  (??)  Dont worry it gets better........ Even though the above link  is still  current and reads as above, things are not as they may seem.  The new MOU  (Effective January 1, 2012 thru December 31, 2013 )  http://www.ci.beaumont.ca.us/DocumentCenter/Home/View/3215   
has some very interesting changes.

“U. DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN: The CITY agrees to participate in the 401(a) Matching
Deferred Compensation Plan on a ratio of CITY contribution twice the employee contribution
from payroll deductions, and with the CITY's contribution not to exceed the lesser of five
percent (5 %) of the employee's salary or five thousand dollars ($5,000) per year.  Employees
must make arrangements to participate in the City of Beaumont Eligible 457 Plan.  If an
employee chooses to not participate in any of the CITY provided medical, dental, or vision
coverage’s and the employee has alternate coverage, they can then have the premium for the
single rate contributed into the plan.  The CITY does not match those contributions.  In no way
will the CITY’s contributions exceed one hundred percent (100%) of an employee’s salary.  “


…...Im not a lawyer, or an accountant, or any sort of rocket scientist, but I am a bit skeptical if what applies to others City employees applies to the Contract details negotiated at “arms length”  with the City Manager.  When the Parks Maintenance worker decides to save to his deferred account, thru payroll deductions at say, $1500 a year and the City now matches TWICE the contribution at a limit of 5%  of salary or $5000, thats clear and concise and easy to understand.   Is the City of Beaumont contributing TWICE the City Managers employee contribution ($21,882)?    Realizing of course that in this case the EMPLOYEE contribution is being PAID by the City?  Or does what applies to the Maintenance worker and all other City workers apply to the City Manager? ..
Or does the City’s contribution at $21,882 mean that City Manager will be contributing ½ that amount thru HIS payroll deductions?  Either way it far exceeds the City’s Deferred Compensation Plan.  A clear and concise explanation of how this  applies to the City Manager shouldnt be too much to ask.  Since the formulas regarding his participation in City benefits are OBVIOUSLY different than  the City formulas applied to ALL other Employees, I will forward a copy of this to his email and eagerly await his  response.   What’s good for the Gander...?  (Generally means the Gander writes the Rules..)


The Employment Agreement already automatically raises City Managers pay   (even after only  6 months as official  City Employee) a minimum of 2.5% every JAN 1,  grants 14 days of Holiday Leave, 5 weeks of Vacation Leave, 3 weeks of Sick Leave.    Did anyone wonder how Banning’s City Manager has a Salary of $208,000 but  his W-2 income is $284,00?   Do the math people, if our industrious City Manager decides to skip a few of  his 10 weeks paid time off ....How much can he make??  (Up to $42,000 more)   With NO clear explanations in the Deferred Compensation we can safely assume a minimum of $21,000+ ...but possibly 3 times that amount. Did anyone notice in the Table above citing City Managers pay  in the Deferred Compensation Column?    Noticeably devoid of significant entries?   An accurate answer shouldnt  have to wait until the State Comptroller posts 2012 data regarding these matters in July 2014.


                                                                        ANIMAL FARM


               All animals are equal,  but some animals are more equal than others




        --  All comments are welcomed.  More to follow regarding other issues in the Beaumont area such as...



        --  What did we get for the nearly   $¼ BILLION  (ok $224 MILLION) in Mel-Roos bond debt?
                    http://www.treasurer.ca.gov/cdiac/reports/M-Roos/2009.pdf   (scroll to pg  A320)


        -- Where did the  $20 MILLION the City loaned to our dissolved RDA  come from and where did it
             go and what did we get?   Will it ever be repaid?  Especially in light of the State’s ruling that  
             “...loans to a Redevelopment Agency by a City are NOT an enforceable obligation.”    
             
           PressEnterprise 6-15-12                    

         
        --   When is a CalPers  member eligible to buy Service credits?

        --  What is definition of Independent Contractor in regards to qualifying for CalPers membership?

        --If the “Independent Contractor” passes  CalPers “Common Law Control Test”   , is the City in arrears
           for over 15 years of contributions?


         Stay tuned........