City of LA Posts Database of Salaries
Thanks to Bell, LA and other cities are talking a lot about transparency and openess
Want to know how much a position with the city of LA pays? There's a list on the city controller's website.
LA Friday became the largest city in the United States to post the salaries of virtually all its employees online. Page load times were slow Friday afternoon.
City Controller Wendy Greuel said the database was a response to the salary scandal in the city of Bell.
"In light of what happened in Bell, I thought it was important for Los Angeles to set an example and post the salary of every city employee online," Greuel said. "The public's trust has been broken as a result of the recent scandal in Bell. This is an important step to provide greater transparency and openness in how taxpayer dollars are spent."
The database lists every position in the city of Los Angeles, sorted by department, and the corresponding salary. The names of the employees holding the position are not listed.
The database will be updated later, to reflect actual compensation for employees when furloughs and overtime are factored in, Greuel said.
Salaries at the Department of Water and Power and Community Redevelopment Agency are not included in the list, since the City Controller's office does not manage those payrolls.
Greuel urged leaders at both the DWP and CRA to post their salaries, as well, saying: "Angelenos have a right to know how their taxpayer dollars are being spent, and I think this is an important step in that direction.''
The website of the city administrative officer, who is the city's top budget analyst and chief labor negotiator, has for years listed the range of salaries for each position.
Bell's top officials received some of the highest municipal wages in the nation. City Administrative Officer Robert Rizzo made $787,637 a year, almost twice the salary of President Barack Obama; police Chief Randy Adams made $457,000 annually; and Assistant City Manager Angela Spaccia made $376,288.
For some perspective, the LA Times found the average pay of a city manager in LA County is about $210,000. The Times created a database of city manager salaries.
