Public employee salaries gone wild

The City of Sacramento is worried that their "leaders" are underpaid.

42 police officers are laid off, but Sacramento gives a $49,000 pay increase to the city manager


The Socialists in the People's Republic bay like a pack of wild dogs for more and more of the money that you work hard to earn.  From each according to their ability, to each according to his needs.

And it appears that the Elite running the government is really in need.

Newly appointed Sacramento City Manager John Shirey will make tens of thousands of dollars more than the previous two full-time managers under a contract expected to be approved by the City Council says the Sacramento Bee.

Shirey, whose first day as the city's top executive is scheduled for Sept. 1, will receive $305,940 in salary, benefits and allowances, city officials said. His base salary of $258,000 is higher than that of any other current city manager in the region and is the highest salary ever granted to a Sacramento city employee.

In a first for a Sacramento city manager, Shirey will be working under a contract. The three-year deal will grant him a six-month severance package should he be fired by the City Council without cause.

In a first for a Sacramento city manager, Shirey will be working under a contract. The three-year deal will grant him a six-month severance package should he be fired by the City Council without cause.

The City Council's offer to Shirey comes just weeks after it filled a $39 million budget deficit by making cutbacks that included laying off 42 police officers.

He is the executive director of the California Redevelopment Association and was the city manager of Cincinnati for eight years.

"It's a fair package for a professional city manager, for the capital of California and the largest city in the region," Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy said. "We need someone who needs no training, who can just come in and start putting the city in the right direction."

Shirey's total annual compensation is roughly $35,000 more than what former interim Sacramento City Manager Gus Vina earned. Vina stepped down in April after serving for 13 months.

It's $49,000 more than what former City Manager Ray Kerridge earned before he resigned last year.

Shirey's compensation package includes a $500 monthly automobile allowance, $1,200 a month in medical benefits and a city contribution of $15,000 a year into a 457(b) retirement plan.

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