Salaries Incommensurate with Economic Crater

Ernst: Salary reviews should be routine

A police captain in Venice makes $103,750 a year. The deputy finance director makes $96,096. A parks foreman makes $60,623.

Last week, as the Venice City Council prepared for a final vote on next year's budget, a list of 56 nonunion salaries made the rounds among the citizenry. People always love to know what others earn, but Mike Rafferty had another reason for circulating the salary chart obtained by the Venice Taxpayers League.

He did not want the council to raise his property tax rate. He pointed to the salaries as an example of spending that is out of whack with what the public can afford. And he suggested that the council cut salaries before it raises taxes. More...