Camarillo Watchdog Group Protests Salaries of City Employees : Government: The residents call on the council to freeze and perhaps cut pay for 104 workers.

A group of disgruntled Camarillo residents are protesting what they call the outrageously high salaries of city employees, from secretaries to the city manager.

Led by tax attorney and community activist Kevin Staker, 15 residents have formed a watchdog group to pressure the City Council to freeze and perhaps cut the salaries of the city’s 104 workers.

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

The protest was sparked by the council’s decision last week to continue its longstanding policy of paying employees more than their peers in other Southland cities.

A code enforcement officer, for instance, can earn up to $43,776 in Camarillo contrasted with $36,400 in Moorpark and $39,828 in Thousand Oaks.

Camarillo officials said the city offers higher salaries to attract the most qualified people.

Also, Camarillo has a smaller staff than most cities its size, forcing employees to work harder, officials said.

But Staker said he hasn’t noticed that City Hall employees have their noses to the grindstone.

“You go over there and it isn’t exactly a beehive of overwork,” he said.

City Manager J. William Little, whose yearly income of $116,724 makes him the highest-paid city worker, blamed the protests on frustration over the poor economy.

“When times are bad, public employees’ salaries are fair game for people to take shots at,” Little said. “It’s part of the job.”

But Assistant City Manager Larry Davis said city workers are having a hard time not taking the salary protests personally.

“They’re attacking what our value, our worth is to the system, and we feel we’re working hard,” Davis said. “While you can say it’s not personal, it’s hard to separate it out when it’s your job.”

Davis earns $91,000 annually, the second-highest city salary after Little’s.

Resident Dave Tapie, who has joined Staker’s community watchdog group, said city employees should take the protests personally.

“How in the hell can you take a raise when everybody else is losing wages or losing their job?” said Tapie, 46, who owns a small mortgage brokerage firm. “It’s hard to take.”

But the council won’t vote on actual raises until after the state has finished its budget.

Moreover, when the council voted 3 to 2 last week to set salary guidelines at 5% above the median for workers in comparable positions in 12 cities and a county government studied by a city consultant, the new guidelines amounted to a cutback for Camarillo city workers.

This year, the city’s employee pay scales are set at 8% above the median, and in previous years salary ranges were 10% higher than the median.

Nevertheless, council members David Smith and Ken Gose dissented. They said they are concerned about setting salary guidelines before the state budget is complete.

At an organizing meeting this week at Staker’s office, Tapie and other protesters said the root of the problem is that Camarillo bases its salaries on wages paid by other local governments.

“It’s like the dog chasing its tail,” one elderly man grumbled.

Other cities are just as out of touch with economic realities as Camarillo, some protesters said.

Little said the city also is surveying salaries offered by six large companies in the Camarillo area, including divisions of Unisys Corp., 3M Corp. and Southern California Edison.

He said the protesters are overreacting because of their fears that the state will slash city funding this year.

“A lot of people are anticipating Armageddon around here,” he said. “This city is in good financial shape.”

The city is projecting $4.5 million in reserves by the end of the fiscal year, equal to half of the total general fund budget, Little said.

He rejected arguments that the city should cut its work force or slash salaries just because other public agencies, such as the city of Oxnard or the Los Angeles city school system, are in financial difficulties.

“That’s like saying because McDonnell Douglas laid off 10,000 people, every other company should lay off 10,000 people,” he said.

City Government Pay The top salaries available to Camarillo city workers often exceed those in neighboring cities.

Position Camarillo Moorpark Simi Valley Thousand Oaks Water Meter Reader $33,276 NA $30,528 $31,092 Administrative $35,856 $27,170 $31,020 $32,688 Secretary Code Enforcement $43,776 $36,400 $37,092 $39,828 Officer Associate Planner $50,844 $44,252 $52,752 $64,236

Position Ventura Water Meter Reader $30,996 Administrative $31,464 Secretary Code Enforcement $43,200 Officer Associate Planner $48,216

Source: City personnel departments