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Dana Point City Council
DANA POINT-Until last week, the Dana Point City Council had not
had a raise in 10 years. According to Council member William
Ossenmacher, that was one reason for the significant size of the
increase, which was approved 3-2 during the operating budget deliberations.
Councilman Harold Kaufman, who voted with Councilman Wayne Rayfield
to oppose the hike, has continued voicing his strong opposition
to the action.
Council members were being paid a $400 per month salary plus $28
that was put into a retirement fund. The salary was increased
to $420 per month with $29.40 for retirement for each member.
In addition, the council last week started a new $375 auto allowance
and a new $600 payment into the city's cafeteria insurance plan
for each member. The name cafeteria implies that the benefits
can be used to purchase various types or packages of insurance.
"The total compensation for the council went up from $25,680
a year to $104,964," Kaufman said. "They almost tripled
it." (Who can say that public service is its own reward?
Apparently not politicians who get a retirement account no matter
what their record is. Dana Point OnLine)
Kaufman said he was also miffed by the fact that the council voted
to give the planning commissioners a raise from nothing to a stipend
of $125 per month, about $8.75 in retirement funding plus $200
a month for the cafeteria-style insurance program. Ossenmacher
this week stood by the position he took with Mayor Ruby Netzley
and Mayor Pro Tem Ingrid McGuire in favor of the raises. He also
accused Kaufman of trying to make political hay out of the issue.
Ossenmacher said that a key reason for the raises was to enhance
the representative aspect of the city's government. Kaufman said
that the city had no trouble attracting talented people to run
for local office. Ossenmacher said he agrees it is easy to attract
people to do the job for free. However, Ossenmacher said some
people who may not be able to afford the out-of-pocket expenses
or lost work time, may choose not to run for city council without
sufficient compensation. Ossenmacher added that the council is
only receiving the compensation that it is allowed under state
statutes.
"I think most of the residents would be skeptical of someone
who would be willing to do this job for nothing," Ossenmacher
said. "It takes a lot of time." (Taking cynicism to
a new low. DP OnLine) Ossenmacher said that he
has been involved in service to the city for the past 10 years,
three of those with no compensation. (There is a whole host of
local Dana Point residents who have functioned for the general
welfare of the community without compensation, long before the
City of Dana Point was incorporated ten years ago. DP OnLine)
When asked why the automobile allowance was so large for a city
that is only about 6 square miles in area, Ossenmacher said:
"I consider it as a part of the overall package. I think,
given the amount of time council members invest, it's pretty modest."
Kaufman also took offense to the fact that the raises were given
while the City Clerk's staff was reduced from four full-time people
to three full-time and one part-time person. "When I recommended
eliminating a position, I don't just pull it out of the airk,"
Ossenmacher explained. "I have done a lot of research.
The city clerk can manage that department with the resources the
city council wants to allocate. There may be some changes, but
the same level of service." Ossenmacher said that despite what he saw as compelling reasons for the council to get the increased compensation, he had to struggle with the decision. "It was the hardest thing I have had to do since I joined the council," he said. (Of course, no one suggests replacing the worn-out and corrupt members of Community Development, which is the euphemistic name for the planning department, where the managers were hired because of their backgrounds in redevelopment in other southern California towns. That specialization makes their salary packages more expensive than planners who do not have that special orientation. DP OnLine) SOURCE: Excerpted from the 1 July, 1999, issue of the Dana Point News. Reprinted in the public interest.(DANA POINT ON-LINE: Redevelopment, it turns out, has been employed in many, many California cities, under state laws that enable city governments to take over whole areas which they have wide ranging powers to declare "blighted." Dana Point is only one of the more recent victims of this ploy, and those with the professional skill to revive redevelopment are still in control of the Dana Point planning department. Now, due to bad publicity, redevelopment is no longer being used as a term, now planning departments are encouraged to use the terminology, "upgrade." For more information on the threat to our civil liberties due to redevelopment, see www.redevelopment.com) |
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