May 9, 2008 9:26 am US/Pacific
Mayor's Nominee For Financial Manager Wants $290K
LOS ANGELES
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The Los Angeles City Council is questioning Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's nominee to oversee the city's finances.
AP
The Los Angeles City Council is questioning Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's nominee to oversee the city's finances because of his lobbyist connections and his request for a $290,000 salary, it was reported Friday.
The mayor nominated his former chief deputy, Marcus Allen, who has been meeting with council members to discuss both his plans for the position and his salary request, which is $70,000 more than the salary of outgoing CAO Karen Sisson, the Daily News reported.
Allen would be the fourth-highest-paid official in the city, earning even more than the mayor, according to the newspaper.
The mayor also has the option to give general managers a five percent merit bonus that could boost Allen's pay to $305,000 a year, even as Los Angeles is facing a $406 million budget shortfall.
Allen told the Daily News he wouldn't discuss his salary request, which is ultimately decided by the mayor and council. The Mayor's Office also wouldn't comment on the salary request.
"If we're in this economic downturn, I don't know how we can, in good conscience, justify a salary to that degree when we're talking about layoffs and service cuts," Councilman Dennis Zine, who heads the council's personnel committee, told the Daily News.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
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