(See related article in the August 2, 2010, issue of the ICMA Newsletter)

Since publication on July 15 of the L.A. Times article, “Is a city manager worth $800,000?” (which reported on the excessively high salaries of three appointed managers in Bell, Calif.), ICMA, Cal-ICMA, the City Managers Department of the League of California Cities, and the California City Managers Foundation have responded to numerous media inquiries, columns, and opinion pieces and taken action to preclude similar situations in the future.

On July 30, the League embarked upon the creation of a statewide salary survey of city managers and CAOs.  Managers were encouraged via an August 3 email to participate in the survey, which collects 2009 W-2 Box 5 salary information to report and compare the compensation of managers within the state. Although the W-2 information is not necessarily all inclusive, it was chosen to provide a uniform measurement for comparison.  The deadline for completion of the survey was Friday, August 27, 2010. 

On August 5, ICMA Executive Director Bob O’Neill posted a response to the Governing.com Public Money column, “California's Latest Pay Plunder,” written by Girard Miller, a senior strategist at the PFM Group, former GASB board member, and former Janus mutual funds and ICMA Retirement Corporation president.  In his column, Girard suggested that the ICMA Code of Ethics encompasses a set of "'do-good-and-avoid-evil' platitudes that lack substance.”  Bob responded to this accusation by discussing how “just as the U.S. Constitution provides a broad set of principles for the organization of our 50 states, the ICMA Code of Ethics defines the principles (e.g., equity, transparency, honor, integrity, commitment and stewardship) that serve as the foundation for the local government management profession and establishes the standard for excellence in democratic local governance.” Bob’s response appears below Girard’s column on the Governing.com site.

In his August 4 HuffPost blog posting, ICMA Chief Operating Officer and Executive in Residence Ron Carlee discussed how exposure of the Bell salary controversy reminds those in the local government management profession that we “cannot take stewardship and good sense for granted…” and that “we must continuously stress the importance of ethical behavior along with disclosure and oversight.”

ICMA worked with Wall Street Journal reporter Tamara Audi to develop a story underscoring the fact that the Bell salary situation was unique and that in most cases, local government CAOs and other managers are earn less in comparison with their private sector counterparts. The article, Focus on City Pay Widens, appeared on August 5.

Ventura, Calif., City Manager and longtime ICMA member Rick Cole addressed the Bell salary controversy in his August 9 Management Insights column, “$800,000 for a City Manager? The pay scandal in the City of Bell,” also posted on Governing.com.

In response to the controversy, the City Managers Department of the California League of Cities is also currently developing a set of state-specific guidelines for establishing CAO compensation and benefits. Members of the ICMA staff are working on a similar set of guidelines that will have national implications.

ICMA West Coast Regional Director and retired Salinas, California, city manager Dave Mora has served as the organization’s point person in the state. Dave has regularly responded to the  host of California and national media that are reporting on this matter and served as ICMA’s  “on the ground” representative to Cal-ICMA and the California League. According to Dave, “The media dialogue that has resulted from this controversy underscores the critical importance of full disclosure and transparency when discussing local government manager compensation. It also provides a lesson to our profession that we need to work proactively and cooperatively with the media throughout all operations of local government.”

Finally, don’t miss next month’s issue of PM magazine, in which ICMA Director of Ethics Martha Perego advises members in her  “Ethics Matter” column (written three months prior to the Bell salary controversy) to “Take your fair share of the pain. Get furloughed, decline the bonus, be an equal participant in the cost reduction plans taking place, even if your contract provides otherwise. To opt out at this time or negotiate for even more just seems greedy.”