City leaders say finances stable

BARSTOW • After a wave of recent municipal bankruptcies, city officials want residents to know that Barstow doesn’t have the kind of financial problems troubled cities like Stockton and San Bernardino have experienced.

That being said, a review of state records shows that top staff in Barstow earn slightly more than some other cities of similar size. But because the city has strong cash reserves, that doesn’t seem likely to affect the city’s fiscal standing the way it has in other cities.

In San Bernardino, one in four of its city employees earn $100,000 or more and its reserve funds are nearly gone. Since the city announced that it may file for bankruptcy, lenders have cut off credit to the city.

Barstow’s reserve funds are projected to grow, according to the city’s recently approved budget for fiscal year 2012-13. The funding levels in the city’s reserves at the end of the 2011-12 fiscal year exceeded estimates, which called for a minimum of a 20 percent reserve balance and a 5 percent emergency reserve.

San Bernardino officials were also using redevelopment funds to pay for staff costs, something that never happened in Barstow.

A state Controller’s Office database created in 2010 in response to the Bell scandal — where Los Angeles Times reporters found that officials at a blue-collar city in southeast Los Angeles County were paying themselves lavish compensation packages — shows that City Manager Curt Mitchell’s salary is higher than some similar cities, but not by a great deal.

In the Sacramento County city of Galt, its city manager makes a base salary of $159,000 per year and receives a less generous retirement package than in Barstow. In the Contra Costa County suburb of Lafayette, which has a population of 61 more people than Barstow and where the average home is worth $1 million, the city manager makes between $180,000 and $234,000. The city provides a 401(k) style plan instead of participating in CalPERS, according to state records.

When the City Council approved former City Manager Hector Rodriguez’s contract in 2006, Rodriguez earned $147,000 per year in base salary.

Mitchell addressed the issue at a recent City Council meeting July 16.

The city was “continuing to seek ways to improve our processes, control costs and improve operational effectiveness so we may maintain our strong financial position in future years, while at the same time seeking to continually improve our community,” Mitchell told council members.

HOW BARSTOW COMPARES

Barstow
Population: 24,281
City Manager: $200,856
Retirement: 2.7 percent at 55
Median household income: $45,166
Income per capita: $19,643

Hercules (Contra Costa County)
Population: 24,693
City Manager: $216,675
Retirement: 2 percent at 55
Median household income: $87,869
Income per capita: $37,813

Lafayette (Contra Costa County)
Population: 24,342
City Manager: $180,000-$234,000
Retirement: Does not participate in CalPERS system; provides 401(k) style plan
Median household income: $134,000
Income per capita: $66,741

Galt (Sacramento County)
Population: 24,264
City Manager: $159,000
Retirement: 2 percent at 55
Median household income: $58,476
Income per capita: $21,112

South Lake Tahoe (El Dorado County)
Population: 24,087
City Manager: $181,999
Retirement: 2.7 percent at 55
Median household income: $44,217
Income per capita: $23,448

HIGH DESERT CITIES

Victorville
Population: 115,903
City Manager: $249,996
Retirement: 2.5 percent at 55
Median household income: $53,566
Income per capita: $17,907

Apple Valley
Population: 69,135
Town Manager: $222,280
Retirement: 2.7 percent at 55
Median household income: $50,066
Income per capita: $22,410

Adelanto
Population: 31,765
City Manager: $210,000-$215,000
Retirement: 2 percent at 60
Median household income: $43,305
Income per capita: $12,337

Hesperia
Population: 90,173
City Manager: $202,350-$213,000
Retirement: 2.7 percent at 55
Median household income: $48,386
Income per capita: $17,815

Source: California State Controller’s database, U.S. Census Bureau