Getting a Clue
Posted on | August 20, 2010 | No Comments
Marc Grisham was hired in 2004 to be the city manager in Pittsburg, California, a working class city of 65,000 people. His contract is below. Grisham’s starting salary was $169,000 a year. His contract was amended five times in the years since. By 2008, he was making a base salary of $231,938 a year (see the Novermber 4, 2008 letter in the same file below). In just four years, Grisham added $63,000 to his annual base pay — cumulative increases worth more than a third of his starting salary.
But reality appears to be making its appearance in Pittsburg: last month, Grisham recommended that the city council forego his salary increase for the year. The council said yes. See how simple that is?
When tax revenues were strong, city government officials did well for themselves. In a weak economy, they can live on salaries that have grown very rapidly over the last few years. No bailouts or tax hikes are necessary. There’s another solution, and it’s easily implemented.
Comments
Leave a Reply