CRA Chief May Stay on Payroll

With Jerry Scharlin scheduled to step down as head of the Los Angeles redevelopment agency in January, its board agreed Friday to keep him on the payroll for another 18 months as an advisor, which will allow him to qualify for a city pension.

The action was described by redevelopment officials as a way to have Scharlin available to advise the next agency administrator. Others criticized it as an effort to provide Scharlin with a golden parachute.

Scharlin will be kept on as a city employee at a reduced salary of $2,610 a month. At the end of his 18-month stint, he will become eligible for a pension of about $18,000 per year, or 10% of his salary as administrator, said Dov Lesel, an agency attorney.

“The board thought it would be helpful in terms of a transition to have a person around to advise the next administrator,” Lesel said.

The attorney added that Scharlin had asked to remain a city employee, rather than serve as a private consultant, so he could become vested for a pension. Employees must work for the city at least five years to qualify for a pension.

Local leaders who monitor the Community Redevelopment Agency voiced outrage at the way the action had been taken -- in a special, closed meeting just before the holidays and after the City Council had adjourned for the year. The meeting was held at the exclusive City Club instead of in the board’s normal meeting room at agency headquarters. “It’s business as usual,” said North Hollywood attorney Glenn Hoiby, who heads a watchdog group that oversees the agency. “They are making their inside deals to take care of their friends.”

Hoiby and other critics questioned the need to retain Scharlin as an advisor at a time when the redevelopment agency is trying to trim its workforce because of expected budget problems next year.

Neither CRA board Chairman David Farrar nor Scharlin returned calls for comment, but an agency board member, Madeline Janice-Aparacio, defended the decision to keep Scharlin on the payroll.

“Jerry has tremendous experience and skills and also knows a lot of history here, and so this will be vital for a new administrator to have during the transition,” she said. Scharlin’s contract extension is subject to approval by the council.

City Councilman Jack Weiss said in a telephone interview that he would need assurances that Scharlin’s services are really needed.

He also said it was “odd” for a public agency to meet at “a private, exclusive club” to conduct business.

“The goal of a public agency should be to inspire public confidence, and meeting like this probably doesn’t advance that goal,” Weiss said.

Scharlin, who has many detractors at City Hall, announced in October that he would not seek to renew his contract as administrator when it expires at the end of January. The agency then launched a national search for a replacement.

Scharlin was hired to temporarily head the CRA in July 1999, but later was given a contract to serve as full-time administrator, with an annual salary of about $180,000.

He oversees an agency with a $342-million budget. The CRA has undergone significant cutbacks in the last five years because of financial problems tied to the weak economy.

An audit by the city controller accused the agency two years ago of overpaying for property. Scharlin also sparked controversy when he fired two top managers; the City Council paid $584,000 to settle the employees’ wrongful discharge claims.

Critics contend the agency has a history of offering golden parachutes to its top administrators. One former administrator who was pressured to step down in 1990, John Tuitt, negotiated a $1.7-million retirement agreement. When the City Council balked, he sued and ultimately walked away with more than $1 million.