SLO council unanimously approves raise for city attorney

May 8, 2013
Christine Dietrick

Christine Dietrick

The San Luis Obispo City Council unanimously approved a 4.5 percent salary increase for City Attorney Christine Dietrick on Tuesday.

Prior to the council approving the pay raise, three members of the public criticized the proposed increase, two of whom are current candidates for the city council vacancy: Kevin Rice and Donald Hedrick.

The other public speaker to criticize the pay raise, attorney Stew Jenkins, delivered a letter to the four members of the council stating that the median salary for lawyers in California is $139,152.

“The compensation received by the city attorney is already appreciably higher than the median salary paid to attorneys throughout the state of California,” Jenkins wrote in the letter. “The position is currently well paid, and arguably overpaid given the wide variety of competent attorneys available to perform the job at $20,000 to $30,000 less than the current salary is set at.”

At her new level of pay, Dietrick stands to make nearly $25,000 more than California Attorney General Kamala Harris, who is making $143,571 this year, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Dietrick’s base salary will increase from $160,446 to $168,000 yearly at a time in which line level employee salaries are either frozen or facing cuts. Dietrick previously received a 3.5 percent pay raise in April 2012.

While Dietrick’s pay is increasing, general city employees will receive no salary increases through 2014 and firefighters will receive no salary increases through 2015. Police officers took a 2 percent reduction in pay in January and will take another 2 percent pay cut in July 2014.

Last year, Jenkins successfully sued the city over an ordinance used to frequently ticket the homeless. The city had to pay Jenkins and fellow attorney Saro Rizzo a total of $133,800 to settle the case.

After the city lost the suit and paid the settlement, the California Joint Powers Insurance Authority, which provides legal liability insurance, raised the city’s annual rate by $74,000. CJPIA also notified the council in February that it owes a retroactive payment of more than $3.1 million due to change in how the agency calculates the city’s yearly contribution to the insurance fund.

 


Loading...
22 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

All the city, county and state governments have had many decades to run wild and unchallenged with salaries, pensions, vacations and benefits. Now that the economy has finally and forever tanked taxpayers are rightfully outraged. Its going to be a long and hard fight to get these parasites out of the soft sweet niche they occupy


This should be the proverbial ‘straw that broke the camel’s back’. IT IS TIME FOR THE RECALL PROCESS TO BEGIN. ALL CITIZENS OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY NEED TO GET VERY FAMILIAR WITH HOW THIS PROCESS WORKS!


She is paid to cover up for DA Shea’s lack of Nothing.. She does NOTHING… I know as I have met her talked to her.. She knows to much and cover ups and they cannot pay her enough to keep these secrets.One day.. they will not pay her.. Then you will see I hope a whistle blower.. But I doubt it..They will just keep paying her for nothing.


If you never understood what the Peter Principal is then go back and read the article again.


Definition of ‘Peter Principle’


An observation that in an organizational hierarchy, every employee will rise or get promoted to his or her level of incompetence. The Peter Principle is based on the notion that employees will get promoted as long as they are competent, but at some point will fail to get promoted beyond a certain job because it has become too challenging for them. Employees rise to their level of incompetence and stay there. Over time, every position in the hierarchy will be filled by someone who is not competent enough to carry out his or her new duties.


Outrageous!!!!

Reminds me of nero golfiing while the rest of the country burns…

Voters wake up and keep this kind of crap in mind when you are standing behind the little ballot curtain and can’t quite decide whom to vote for…


Why don’t we have a curtain? We all vote without much privacy. Don’t need it, most of us are Republicans. We believe in transparency. Come on and take a look!


Blessings


” …. most of us are Republicans.” Um, no. Believe what you want, facts state what is true, not what one wants to believe. Keep on believing though ….


In your heart you know I’m right. Facts lean as the wind blows. Depends a lot on how much money you make or which group you hang with.


Blessings


She now makes more than the California State Attorney General……But then she is one of the in crowd. SLO citizens continue to get just what they deserve. They are not even smart enough to ask to be kissed first.


Makes sense since doesn’t the city manager make more than the govenor of California?


I guess when I said no to raise they didn’t hear me. Maybe they are going to give an across the board raise. Everyone deserves it as much as she does. Blessings


Holy cr@p! Unanimously? Really? I certainly hope that the candidates for the open City Council seat are all asked as to if they would have voted for this undeserved raise; certainly could sway my opinion of who to vote for …


I hope the citizens of SLO like their elected officials now, you got the council you voted for, enjoy, no reason to complain, right?


Wow. Just plain wow–and not in a good way. :(