CAMARILLO : Activist Wants Cuts in City Workers’ Pay

A Camarillo tax attorney is organizing a residents’ watchdog group to push for lower salaries for city employees.

Attorney and community activist Kevin Staker said he will hold an organizing meeting tonight at 7 for residents concerned that Camarillo’s employees are overpaid.

The issue of city salaries arose last week, when the City Council voted to change the guidelines for paying Camarillo’s 104 employees. The council set the goal of paying workers 5% above the median of employees with similar positions in other city and county governments around Southern California.

The council will make its final decision on salaries for the 1993-94 fiscal year after the state sets its budget, city officials said.

Last week’s action amounted to a lowering of the guidelines. This fiscal year, Camarillo is paying its workers 8% above the median income for comparable positions. In previous years, salaries were set at 10% above the median.

City officials say they’ve maintained a policy of paying workers more than most of their peers because Camarillo has a smaller staff than other cities of similar size, requiring employees to work harder.

But Staker and some other residents say city salaries are higher than they should be at a time when many residents are suffering from the recession. Staker said he is calling for a 10% across-the-board pay cut for Camarillo city workers.

“There’s a serious economic downturn in this area, and the pay of city employees should reflect that,” Staker said.