Posted: Aug. 17, 2009
Mayoral staff, some pay rises under Bing
Premium needed to attract top talent, aide says
BY SUZETTE HACKNEY
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Detroit Mayor Dave Bing has grown his cabinet by about 20 employees and is paying some top appointees at least $10,000 more than his predecessor paid workers in the same or similar posts, according to records obtained by the Free Press.
For example, former Police Chief James Barren received $142,800 under Mayor Ken Cockrel Jr., who served from September until May before losing his post to Bing. Bing's pick, Warren Evans, makes $156,000. Cockrel's leader of the Planning and Development Department made $130,000. Bing's appointee is paid $132,001.
Bing's actions rankled union officials, who criticized him for boosting some executive staff pay while seeking job and salary reductions from unions to help the city fend off bankruptcy.
A spokesman for the mayor said Bing, who is not collecting a salary, needed to retain and hire the best talent he could to help the city deal with its financial crisis and other woes.
Bing is paying about a dozen of the appointees retained from Cockrel the same. He shrank some other salaries. The deputy corporation counsel, for instance, makes $1,000 less than the $122,000 he made under Cockrel and now is paid $121,000.
Bing expects more with bigger salaries
Bing says he needs expertise and experience if he is to succeed in turning Detroit around. And he says it's worth the extra money the city is spending.
Records obtained by the Free Press through the Freedom of Information Act show that Bing is compensating his six top aides with salaries ranging from $140,001 to $153,400. Those officials include Charles Beckham, chief administrative officer; Saul Green, deputy mayor, and Norm White, chief financial officer. Evans is the highest paid appointee, at $156,000.
The salaries are necessary to retain those qualified to help fix the city, Bing's spokesman said Friday. The mayor said he donated his pay of $176,176 to the Detroit Police Department, a promise he made while campaigning last fall.
"We are in an economic, education and social crisis that requires a different application of expertise, experience and commitment," said Edward Cardenas, Bing's press secretary. "The mayor is demanding productivity and not just presence. Asking people to help save the Titanic requires more than asking them to simply help steer a vessel."
[[2 of 3)
Bing is trying to steer around the biggest budget crisis to ever hit the city. He estimates the budget deficit is close to $350 million and warns that the city could run out of cash by October if drastic measures are not taken.
Come Sept. 1, all of Bing's 118 appointees and about 1,400 other nonunionized workers and City Council appointees will, at Bing's direction, take a 10% pay cut -- a $3 million to $5 million savings for the city.
Advertisement
Union asked to take pay cut
Bing said the city is close to receivership and has implored its 11,500 unionized workers to also take at least a 10% pay cut by Aug. 28, a move that he said will save another $8 million to $10 million. City employees have been working on expired contracts, and concession negotiations are slow at best.
Union leaders were rankled Friday when they learned that as Bing began putting his cabinet together after May's election, that he gave some appointee positions salary bumps, including the police chief, planning and development director and the city's interim Lighting Department director.
"That's insane," said Leamon Wilson, chairman of the presidents of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees locals, which represent city employees. "That really does send a bad message. It's unbelievable, considering the stuff they're telling us and how broke they're claiming the city to be. Hell, no wonder it's broke."
Recently, AFSCME leaders unanimously voted to rescind their primary election endorsement of Bing.
Organization chart redrawn
Bing's spokesman said the mayor broke down the previous structure, in which 42 city departments reported to two people. "This is a more efficient form of management and allows for an increased span of control and accountability," said Cardenas.
Bing serves as chief executive officer of the city, while Beckham functions as second in command. Under them, group executives manage functions such as health and human services, public safety, finance and the mayor's office. Green functions as deputy mayor and public safety group executive.
[[3 of 3)
When Cockrel, the Detroit City Council President, was thrust into the mayor's chair last fall after a disgraced Kwame Kilpatrick resigned from office, he said he had two weeks to cobble together his A-team. He said he hired the best, but also kept in mind the city's fiscal deficiencies.
An exact comparison of salaries between the Bing and Cockrel administrations is difficult because jobs and titles have changed, as have some responsibilities.
After reviewing the structure of Bing's cabinet, Cockrel acknowledged that he considered using the group executive model, too. He said he wouldn't second-guess Bing's model, but did take issue with its cost effectiveness.
"There is no doubt that if you have a larger number of group executives and you are paying them six figures, that the end result is you end up costing the city a lot of money," Cockrel said. "It does send a mixed message when at the same time, you're talking about 10% cuts and concessions and the need for layoffs, but certain people in your administration have been given ... raises."
Kenneth Lewis, 67, who lives in downtown Detroit, said of Bing: "If you're going to be righteous -- telling the unions to take pay cuts and doing stuff like ending bus service -- then you have to be right."
Reasons for salary boosts
The most eye-popping salary increase is that of Pamela Turner, director of the Water and Sewerage Department, whose salary grew from $130,000 under Cockrel to $155,002 under Bing. But Cardenas said Turner's salary was dictated by U.S. District Judge John Feikens, who has overseen the department since 1977 as part of a pollution lawsuit settlement, and in recent years, has taken on more responsibilities.
Feikens couldn't be reached for comment.
As for the chief of police, Bing, who has made crime a focus, has set a high bar as to what Evans will accomplish -- including meeting the requirements of U.S. Justice Department monitors who are overseeing changes in police operations as required under consent decrees signed with the city. The city has struggled to meet those requirements, put in place after questionable shootings by police and allegations of prisoner mistreatment and other civil rights issues.
"Chief Evans is expected to do what previous chiefs have not done, such as fulfilling the provisions of the federal consent decree, modernizing the Police Department and using the latest techniques to fight crime in the city," Cardenas said.
Contact SUZETTE HACKNEY: 313-222-6678 or
shackney@freepress.com
