Coup Eminent

     El Comandante ?

2/23/09

By Marc Garman

City manager Joe Tanner is again facing the firing squad at the Tuesday February 24 Vallejo City Council meeting. In the closed session prior to the meeting itself, Tanner will be exposed to a performance evaluation, after which The Council will vote on renewing his contract. While there have, apparently, been no official goals or criteria disclosed, it would seem that Vallejo's ruling junta doesn't seem to feel the need for such procedural formalities.

Tanner's income for 2008 was $318,845. A princely sum to be sure. While Tanner is highly paid, and should certainly be subject to a legitimate performance review, it seems ironic that Fire Department employees who come very close to Tanner in terms of total compensation have not had any performance reviews for years. The next 13 highest incomes in the City of Vallejo all went to members of the Fire Department:

1) Assistant Fire Chief--Ray Dandridge------------$284,875

2)Assistant Fire Chief--Douglas Robertson----- -$280,948

3)Fire Captain--Richard McKenzie-------------------$261,789

4)Assistant Chief--Gregory Falkenthal-------------$254,274

5)Fire Inspector--Gregory White---------------------$244,673

6)Fire Captain--Frederick Taylor---------------------$242,084

7)Fire Captain--David Urrutia--------------------------$237,475

8)Fire Chief--Russ Sherman--------------------------$230,714

9)Fire Captain--Sean Fields---------------------------$228,707

10)Firefighter--Kevin Hickey---------------------------$218,879

11)Fire Captain--Jon Riley-----------------------------$215,676

12)Assistant Chief--Lamonte Morris---------------$215,518 

13)Firefighter Engineer--Michael Humphrey-----$213,352

These numbers reflect salary and overtime, but do not include benefits which on average are equivalent to 80% of base salary above and beyond the numbers above. 

You can view the wages for all Vallejo City Employees HERE

The bottom line is that we have many employees who are paid more than we can afford in the Bankrupt City of Vallejo. There is an obvious need for broad reform of public sector employees in the state and the nation as well.

While Tanner has taken flack for his high salary, the real reason for his being constantly squeezed is because he stands in the way of a burgeoning power grab by Mayor Osby Davis. Tanner is also one of the only City Managers in Vallejo who has stood up to the political might that is the Public Safety Unions.

The removal of Tanner, a strong and experienced City Manager, is the first step in bringing about changes to the Vallejo City Government that will allow a more powerful role for The Mayor. Osby's Charter Review Committee, likely to be stacked with a membership partial to both a Strong Mayor and the Public Safety Agenda, is up for approval on Tuesday as well.

It would seem that Mayoral ambition and the Public Safety Unions have found common ground in their wish to see Tanner gone and are engaging in the business of making political sausage. A meaty mix of Money, Power and Ambition held together by a greasy skin consisting of taxes culled from the Vallejo populace.

Which brings us to the next item of interest on the agenda: Tax Measures.

First, there is the UUT (Utility Users Tax) which will expire in December unless approved by the electorate. This used to be a fee, but the courts have ruled that it is a tax, and as such, must be approved by the voters. Second, is a resolution to look at “GENERAL FUND REVENUE AUGMENTATION OPTIONS” and the suggestion of retaining a consultant to assist in implementation. Read the bold phrase in the previous sentence as: "Public Safety Tax".

Will Osby move along the path to more power? Will the Public Safety "Lifestyles of the Rich and Shameless" be supported on our backs? I urge you to tune in—or better yet:

GO TO THE MEETING

Vigilance is more important now than ever.