Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Pay Perception

Escondido Councilmember Sam Abed changed his mind. He wants to give back 5 percent of the 10-percent pay increase he supported for the city council back in 2007. At a January 7 city-council meeting, Abed said that, considering the city’s upside down finances (a $7.4 million budget deficit), he doesn’t want the extra $675 a year. Instead, he feels the money should go back into the city’s empty piggy bank. Abed’s “change of heart” was expressed minutes before the council heard a proposal to cut the salaries of City Hall employees by 5 percent.

Don’t get him wrong, Abed says, the city council should be compensated more than the $12-an-hour wage they receive, but a raise during what he referred to as “rapidly deteriorating economic times” is not justified. Instead, Abed said the council should give back the money but keep the raises in place for next year. The pay for a councilmember, after incurring a 5 percent cut, is $26,969.

“Certainly public office is not about income, but I still believe that there should be a fair compensation to the city council — not to make it an incentive, but at the same time not to make it a disincentive,” said Abed. “It’s a symbolic gesture. It shows to our city employees and the taxpayers that we care.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Mayor Lorie Holt Pfeiler feels the city should pay for services rendered. The mayor's salary without the full raise is $53,187, though her position is considered full time. “We need to be honest with the public about what it costs to serve and what is fair," said Pfeiler. "There’s value in what we do for the community.”

“When you put this on the agenda, you’re really taking away what your value is as a councilmember,” said Pfeiler while glancing over at Councilmember Abed.

Pfeiler responded to newly inducted Councilmember Olga Diaz’s comment on the public’s perception of the pay increase. Pfeiler said, “It’s always an interesting discussion about what sits well with the public and what their perception is. The perception is that I make between $85,000 and $100,000 a year and it’s, like, okay, it’s about half that. People are quite surprised about that, so you have to have some education about the perception of the public.”

After some debate, the council unanimously supported a nonbinding resolution stating they will refund 5 percent of their 10 percent pay increase.

For more on Escondido city councilmembers' thinning pocketbooks, go to ci.escondido.ca.us.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Live Five: Greyboy Allstars, Acoustic Revolt, Scary Pierre, Thee Sacred Souls, Glass Spells

Anniversaries, record releases, and fundraisers in Solana Beach, Ocean Beach, Little Italy, and Midway District

Escondido Councilmember Sam Abed changed his mind. He wants to give back 5 percent of the 10-percent pay increase he supported for the city council back in 2007. At a January 7 city-council meeting, Abed said that, considering the city’s upside down finances (a $7.4 million budget deficit), he doesn’t want the extra $675 a year. Instead, he feels the money should go back into the city’s empty piggy bank. Abed’s “change of heart” was expressed minutes before the council heard a proposal to cut the salaries of City Hall employees by 5 percent.

Don’t get him wrong, Abed says, the city council should be compensated more than the $12-an-hour wage they receive, but a raise during what he referred to as “rapidly deteriorating economic times” is not justified. Instead, Abed said the council should give back the money but keep the raises in place for next year. The pay for a councilmember, after incurring a 5 percent cut, is $26,969.

“Certainly public office is not about income, but I still believe that there should be a fair compensation to the city council — not to make it an incentive, but at the same time not to make it a disincentive,” said Abed. “It’s a symbolic gesture. It shows to our city employees and the taxpayers that we care.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Mayor Lorie Holt Pfeiler feels the city should pay for services rendered. The mayor's salary without the full raise is $53,187, though her position is considered full time. “We need to be honest with the public about what it costs to serve and what is fair," said Pfeiler. "There’s value in what we do for the community.”

“When you put this on the agenda, you’re really taking away what your value is as a councilmember,” said Pfeiler while glancing over at Councilmember Abed.

Pfeiler responded to newly inducted Councilmember Olga Diaz’s comment on the public’s perception of the pay increase. Pfeiler said, “It’s always an interesting discussion about what sits well with the public and what their perception is. The perception is that I make between $85,000 and $100,000 a year and it’s, like, okay, it’s about half that. People are quite surprised about that, so you have to have some education about the perception of the public.”

After some debate, the council unanimously supported a nonbinding resolution stating they will refund 5 percent of their 10 percent pay increase.

For more on Escondido city councilmembers' thinning pocketbooks, go to ci.escondido.ca.us.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Last plane out of Seoul, 1950

Memories of a daring escape at the start of a war
Next Article

Pedicab drivers in downtown San Diego miss the music

New rules have led to 50% drop in business
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader