Grover Beach management seeking large raises

August 7, 2024

Grover Beach City Manager Matthew Bronson

By KAREN VELIE

After Grover Beach officials agreed to provide police officers a 10% increase in pay over nearly two years, city management is seeking the same salary increase. At a special meeting on Wednesday, the Grover Beach City Council is slated to approve the 10% raises for officers and city executive management.

The proposed raises for the represented police department employees is slated to cost the city $221.193 during fiscal year 2024-2025. The proposed executive management staff raises are estimated to cost the city $65,000 during fiscal year 2024-2025.

Over eight years, Grover Beach’s city managers’ salary and benefit packages have increased 88%.

In 2014, the city paid former City Manager Bob Perrault $172,521 in total pay and benefits, according to Transparent California. In 2022, the city paid City Manager Matthew Bronson $325,117 in total pay and benefits, an 88% increase.

City management justifies the proposed 10% increase in pay as equivalent to recommendations for represented Police Department employees and also as a way to keep up with what other government agencies pay management staff.

“The city manager is recommending an adjustment in the compensation and benefits structure for the executive management employees to keep these positions competitive with comparable cities from a recruitment and retention standpoint,” according to Bronson’s staff report.

On Aug. 7 at 5 p.m., the City Council will discuss passing two resolutions, one raising police officers pay and another raising executive management pay.

 


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Remember when “Grover Beach” was “Grover City”? No doubt replacing City with Beach upped the salaries by 50% plus.


As they say amigo, life is a beach.


That tired old phrase is still in use: “…a way to keep up with what other government agencies pay management staff.” Sometime back in the day, an anonymous government-salaried person came up with that odd rationale for justifying salaries, which continue to rise. The $325,000+ pay for Grover Beach’s top job actually makes a statement of its own.


This justification of comparative salaries was being used in the 1990s in San Luis Obispo, comparing coastal cities and a handful of similar-sized cities with SLO and then justifying raises for the locals. It is ridiculous! I am certain there are many qualified people who would love to live and work here and do these jobs for half that cost. The city attorneys and department heads and their underlings do all the work, anyway. Government jobs were meant to provide a middle-class standard of living, not make millionaires.


A 10% increase in pay over 2 years for those who put their lives on the line every single day to protect us from the criminal element in our society? I’m all in for that. They deserve more.

Who doesn’t deserve more? The politicians, that’s who. Seems anymore that once these carpetbaggers get into office they completely forget about those of us they are supposed to represent, and instead keep their eyes on more money in their pockets and celebrity.

That’s politician’s at all levels of government. Let us eat cake…


Legend has it that Fifties rock guitarist Duane Eddy wrote his hit recording “Forty Miles of Bad Road” when his tour bus broke down traveling through then Grover City.


$27,000 a month? The man has to feed his family!! Highly doubt he could get that kind of pay in the private sector


Probably no way to find out. I doubt he could even get a job in the private sector. The private sector is where the the producers of this world are. I doubt he has ever produced a thing, and wouldn’t know how.


Maybe this is a sign Matt Bronson sees that the upcoming election is going to change things and if so he likely would be fired immediately and he wants to pad his pension before he is shown the door.


$325,117 for Grover Beach!!?? damn…


Public employee greed is the heart and soul of what ails California.


Yes, there should be a cap on all staff salaries, The top dog should never get more than twice what the skilled occupational employee is paid.