Merit Pay
I found “L.A. Officials’ Raises Likely Despite Stalled Reviews” (Oct. 9) informative. We keep hearing that the city is broke. This year there is a $200-million shortfall. Yet the City Council rubber-stamps “merit pay” increases for the top brass--up to 21% on top of a generous six-figure salary.
The whole idea of merit pay is that employees who do the work receive a reward or incentive for a job well done. In the city of Los Angeles, top managers get merit pay for meeting their own goals, while employees are lucky to get crumbs.
Since top management produces no product, there are few objective criteria for judging their performance. Most are paid more than their private-sector or state government counterparts. Nonetheless, we hear the same, tired argument: The city pays these exorbitant salaries to attract and keep the best people.
Evidently, despite the shortfall, Los Angeles can still afford the fat and nonessential spending.
Meanwhile, there are many city employees whose hard work and diligence go unrecognized and unrewarded. The merit pay plan sends the wrong message.
RICHARD DEIGHT
Buena Park
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