City Council Delays Pay Cut in Lynwood

Lynwood City Council members, among the highest paid part-time politicians in the state, failed to agree at a meeting Tuesday night on a way to reduce their salaries, raising doubts among some residents about the leaders’ willingness to act.

Though a resolution by council members Ramon Rodriguez and Maria Santillan would have cut compensation by nearly half, a three-member majority put off a vote on the matter for the second time this month, saying that more review was needed.

The issue has stirred controversy in the working-class city in southeast Los Angeles County since The Times reported three months ago that some members had earned more than $100,000 per year and had used city-issued credit cards for expensive meals and global travel.

Lynwood, one of the poorest cities in the county, with a per capita income of less than $10,000, has been reeling from political instability and corruption probes. One investigation by the district attorney’s office is focusing on whether council members misused public funds through heavy use of credit cards.

Though members recently canceled their cards, some residents said the council needed to do more to restore confidence.

Newly elected Councilwoman Leticia Vasquez, who campaigned against council abuses, promised at the Tuesday meeting that she would introduce in January a measure calling for a major salary reduction.

But her commitment was questioned by some residents when she nominated Councilman Louis Byrd to be mayor. Byrd, who earned more than $100,000 in 2000 and 2001 and admitted having used public funds to attend his college fraternity reunion, has criticized efforts to rein in salaries and perks. He said at the meeting that other cities should study Lynwood’s compensation system, not the other way around.

“We do more, with less,” said Byrd, in defending his compensation.

Rodriguez disagreed. “Let’s not forget, we are part timers, not full timers.... We have staff running the city, not us,” he said to scattered applause from the audience of about 80 people who spilled out of the packed council chambers into the lobby area.

The inaction, and Vasquez’s actions, frustrated residents who hope that leaders will bring their compensation in line with pay in other cities. Among communities where council members’ pay lags far behind that of Lynwood politicians is Long Beach, the fifth-largest city in the state, where council members receive about $26,000 annually.

“Miracles do happen. Will they ever happen in Lynwood?” resident Frank Calderon asked of council members.

Vasquez, Byrd and Councilman Fernando Pedroza voted to take up the matter again at the next scheduled meeting in January.

For years, council members have had monthly salaries of $804 that, by state law, can be raised only to reflect cost-of-living adjustments.

But members appointed themselves to two city agencies and paid themselves $450 per agency meeting.

The agency sessions usually last only a few minutes, and some members have earned as much as $10,000 per month by calling as many as 10 meetings of each agency.

Council members also increase their pay through the city’s per-diem policy. The $100 stipend is meant to cover travel and dining costs for city-related events, but members have billed the city for attending parades, golf tournaments and political events a few miles from the city.

The proposal pushed by Rodriguez and Santillan would limit the meetings to four annually for the agencies: Lynwood Information Inc. and the Lynwood Finance Authority. Council members’ annual compensation would be about $24,000 under the plan.

The proposal was preliminarily approved by council members last month, but members have delayed final approval. They said that a decision shouldn’t be made until the new city attorney, Arnoldo Beltran, studies whether reducing the number of meetings of the Finance Authority could put the city at financial risk.

Vasquez said she also wanted to propose a farther-reaching plan that would limit per diems and install a compensation cap. She said the city also needs to review its travel policy.

“We have to remember that God didn’t create the world in one day. She thought about it,” said Vasquez, slightly shocking, and delighting, the audience with her reference to God as a woman.

Some residents said they were skeptical. Vasquez, they said, campaigned against abuses and is familiar enough with the issue to make a decision now. They also said her corruption-busting promises did not square with her vote for Byrd as mayor.

“She knows, like everybody knows, that Byrd has misspent money,” alleged resident Eddy Hernandez. “So knowing that, why did she nominate him to be mayor?”

Vasquez said Wednesday that some of Byrd’s spending habits concern her, but that his selection as mayor would help bridge a racial divide in the city, which is predominantly Latino, but also has a sizable African American community. (Byrd is African American).

Vasquez said Byrd’s many years as a councilman and his background as a former elementary school principal also made him the best choice. “There is no one on the council who has given so much to the community,” she said.

Byrd, who was reelected in October, stirred another controversy earlier this month by selecting former councilman Paul Richards to swear him in for his new term.

Richards, a longtime councilman who helped put in place Lynwood’s compensation and perks system, was recalled from office in September.

Before the swearing-in ceremony, Richards’ home was searched by federal authorities as part of an unspecified criminal investigation. Richards has been under investigation stemming from his work in Compton as a manager and labor negotiator.

Byrd defended his decision. “He’s a friend of mine and I wanted him to do that. Everybody was very happy that Paul was there,” Byrd said recently.

Others disagreed, saying that Byrd’s move had arrogantly dismissed residents’ concerns. Showing Richards such respect and allowing him a forum again in City Hall, some residents said, only hurt the city’s battered reputation.

“A recall means we don’t want you in the city,” Hernandez said. “It sends a bad message, and that Paul Richards still thinks he has strong influence.”