As state officials push for transparency in the wake of the salary scandal in the city of Bell, public employee compensation figures for Glendale and Burbank have recently been moved to more prominent positions on their respective websites.
The information was already available online before California Controller John Chiang this week announced he would require cities and counties across the state to provide salary information for employees and elected officials to be posted on the controller's website, starting in November.
His announcement came in response to the growing outcry after the Los Angeles Times reported last month that Bell City Manager Robert Rizzo earned an annual salary of nearly $800,000, while former Glendale Police Chief Randy Adams made $457,000 as the top cop there. They have since resigned.
In comparison, the city managers in Glendale and Burbank have salaries in the mid-$200,000 range.
"The absence of transparency is a breeding ground for waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars," Chiang said in a statement. "A single website with accessible information will make sure that excessive pay is no longer able to escape public scrutiny and accountability."
While local salary information has always been available to the public in city documents, officials acknowledged it could be difficult to find. Both cities have recently made their salary information easier to access online, placing links to employee pay scales and contracts on the home page of their respective city websites.
The cities will also be able to easily comply with the pending state rules, officials said.
"It's no problem for us, and if cities aren't doing it, they should be doing it," said Burbank City Manager Mike Flad. "It's a pretty simple concept. You should be transparent about all aspects of the financial side of local government."
Glendale City Manager Jim Starbirdsaid the postings could help expose pay discrepancies in other small cities like Bell, which often don't receive as much media attention.
"Some of the highest salaries are in the smallest cities," he said. "It's in those communities where they don't have visibility."
