Lakewood Council DOUBLES salary

Health care and car subsidies allow for Council wages to more than double.

By Brian Maquena

May 7, 2022

LAKEWOOD, CA — A public records request revealed how City Council has more than doubled its income.

Council Members currently earn a $19,788 annual salary, a $15,433 health care subsidy, and a $6,000 annual vehicle subsidy. All of this is paid directly to Council Members.

“The cafeteria benefit amount is provided as a lump sum to employees, including Council Members,” wrote Bill Grady, Lakewood’s communication director, via email regarding the health care subsidy.

Council Members can use the health care subsidy to purchase plans through the city or via another health care plan.

“[The health care subsidy] program gives employees and Council Members the flexibility to do that in the way that makes the most sense for them and their families. If you add those three pieces together (salary, mileage/auto, health insurance) you get $41,221,” Grady wrote.

The Lakewood Populist reported in October 2021 how Council was voting to slightly raise its monthly salary to $1,686, or $20,232 annually. That goes into effect later this year.

Gregory Slaughter holds up a printed copy of the emails between him and City Clerk Jo Mayberry, who eventually provided Slaughter with the detailed list of each Councilmember’s annual compensation (left). In 2020, Ron Piazza and Diane DuBois both left Council that year, resulting in 7 salaries for 2020.

District 2 Council candidate, Gregory Slaughter, in February did public records requests for Council Members’ W2 forms, revealing to the public for—as far as this writer knows—the first time how much each actual Council Member was compensated, as Council Members’ wages differ.

Posted March 26 on the Lakewood Populist’s social media accounts.

Councilman Jeff Wood was instrumental in getting the breakdown of Council’s salaries. After requesting such a breakdown at the March 8 Council meeting, Wood told the Lakewood Populist that he would look into the situation.

When told after the May 22 meeting that the wage breakdown information was still unknown, Wood said he would again ask staff to deliver a breakdown of Council compensation.

The Lakewood Populist on March 29 sent an email to Grady for the information.

At the April 3 Public Safety Committee meeting, the Lakewood Populist requested the information from City Manager Thaddeus McCormack, who kindly introduced himself. (This writer thanks McCormack for that.) McCormack said Grady was working on delivering the information.

Grady emailed the breakdown of Council’s salary/total wages on April 5.

The Lakewood Populist is working on a comparison with other cities to see where Lakewood Council’s compensation ranks with others.

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