Executive salaries (July 10, 2015)

Apple Valley Town council member Scott Nassif’s recent letter takes a swipe at Apple Valley Ranches Water Company (AVRWC) for for its high executive salaries (It’s about rate stabilization, Daily Press, July 9, 2015). Because Nassif failed to establish a baseline for determining what a high executive salary is, allow me.

According to sources on the Internet, California Representative (formerly Speaker of the House; currently minority leader) Nancy Pelosi has a salary of $193,000. Our state senators (Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein), and the state representative from our area (Paul Cook), have salaries of $174,000. Governor Jerry Brown’s salary is $165,288.

Yet according to the California State Controllers Office, for 2013 in Apple Valley (the last year available), our animal services manager’s compensation package was $198,911. For our town clerk, the number was $199,219. For our assistant town manager (admin and finance), the amount was $235,275. For our assistant town manager (municipal services), the compensation was $266,826. And for our town manager, the total compensation for 2013 was $301,632. That’s roughly $1,346 per work day, in a town with a population of around 70,000.

I don’t have access to the current numbers for TOAV employees, but let’s hope they’re not in line with the amounts being paid our council members. Our part time town council members, who not that long ago were supposedly making $800 per month, now get nearly $24,000 per year in salary and benefits, including a 50 percent increase they received in 2014-15 compared to 2013-14.

If Nassif proposes to save Apple Valley residents money by controlling the water utility, maybe he could first show the Town has the ability to control itself.

Greg Raven is Co-Chair of Apple Valley Citizens for Government Accountability, and is concerned about quality of life issues.