LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

In the past six weeks, we have run a series of articles on the perquisites that are paid to members of the Board of Supervisors and other top officials in Ventura County government.

As you may recall, those stories have revealed that tens of thousands of dollars are being paid--over and above the base salary. Those numbers had been kept under wraps, until The Times requested their disclosure under the California Public Records Act.

Several cities have since voluntarily submitted their own lists of how much their top officials make. We have published that information, but we felt it was important to go further and look at every city in the county.

We also dug a little deeper into the numbers already released by cities and found a few new surprises. You might be surprised, too.

The Times Ventura County Edition will publish its findings on compensation in all 10 cities on Sunday. As a citizen who contributes to paying those salaries and perquisites, you should find staff writer Tina Daunt’s story of interest.

Julia C. Wilson

Times Ventura County Editor