By John Hill
The Press Enterprise
Murrieta’s police chief has agreed to a 5 percent pay cut, following in the footsteps of other city employees who took furloughs to help close a budget gap.
Mark Wright’s $210,540 salary will be cut by about $10,500 next year. The deal was listed on the agenda for Tuesday’s City Council meeting under the consent calendar, which means it was not expected to be disputed.
Wright said he agreed to the cut because the public had made it clear it is concerned over public employees’ salaries. Murrieta voters overwhelmingly passed ballot initiatives last month designed to cap city government officials’ pay and benefits.
“I just think every city employee needs to take a realistic look at their current costs to the city and see what they can do to relieve some of that burden,” Wright said in a phone interview.
Wright also said he has no immediate plans to retire. He plans to stay with the city at least through his current contract, which ends June 30, he said.
In July, the chief filed a claim against Murrieta because he said he was not allowed to take part in an early retirement buyout offered to other city employees. To take advantage of the program, Wright would have had to retire before the end of this year.
Wright said he has since withdrawn the claim, though he still believes it had merit.
“It just seemed like it was important to move past that issue,” he said.
The early retirement package would have paid three months’ salary to city employees who were 50 and older and retired before the end of the year. Former fire chief Paul Christman, who retired this summer, also filed a claim against the city over money he says he was owed under the offer.
Murrieta has now negotiated salary concessions out of all its employee unions but one. The Murrieta Firefighters Association is still in discussions with the city.
The city’s police and general employees have already agreed to give up 5 percent of their pay and shift to 38.5-hour work weeks.
The moves were part of a package of cuts aimed at closed a $2.8 million budget gap.
Copyright 2010 The Press Enterprise, Inc.