The chairman of an ad hoc executive compensation committee, Bill Hall, said the Chula Vista City Council never presented him with a written deadline as to when they should present their findings to the legislative body.
Councilman Rudy Ramirez, who championed the committee’s formation, said yes they did.
“We put together a memo explaining what the council action was and sent it to the committee,” said Ramirez, who had asked that the report come back within 60 days.
That was in February.
“It’s OK that they didn’t, it was sort of a goal from the council,” Ramirez said.
The committee’s purpose was to determine if Chula Vista executives were being appropriately compensated.
The group compared the salaries of Chula Vista’s top earners to those of employees in similarly-sized cities.
Six months after the committee’s formation, the City Council has yet to hear if executives are being paid too much, too little or just enough.
Hall said that in order to evaluate whether executives were properly compensated, the committee needed to delve into their backgrounds and responsibilities.
He said they have worked with the city’s human resources director Kelley Bacon, City Manager Jim Sandoval and City Attorney Glen Googins throughout the process.
“Our job is to make a fair assessment to give justice to employees so people in the city can sleep better,” Hall said.
Hall said he had an immediate initial concern for the privacy of the individuals whose salaries would be considered and that between February and May he spoke with Googins for legal advice.
“After Glen gave me his ruling, I asked council if they wanted to continue and they said yes, to go forward with what’s been established,” Hall said. “For the people who are now a part of the committee, I feel very confident that there will be a fair assessment of the individuals.”
Scheduling conflicts and personnel issues also contributed to the report’s delay.
Hall said he had to find two replacements for individuals who, while mentioned as possible committee members, ultimately declined to participate. Now the group includes Hall, pastor Richard Schmidt, Gina Harvey and Diana Edwards.
The committee has held two meetings since June 16. They have not determined when they will have a report ready for the council.
“I believe that they will be producing some back to us soon,” Ramirez said. “I’m eager and waiting to see what they come up with.”
