Pay Raises OKd for City Officials

The Torrance City Council adopted a resolution Tuesday authorizing a 4% cost-of-living raise for the city manager, city attorney and 58 other management-level city employees, a pay increase slightly less than that received by other city employees.

About 1,300 city employees will receive pay increases of between 4.4% and 4.7%. The lower increase approved Tuesday for the top officials will save the city about $20,000, said Liz Rojas of the city manager’s office.

Councilman Bill Applegate voted with three other members for the resolution. “We need to recognize that it is not business as usual in this city,” he said. “We have to start tightening our belts, and we should start at the top.”

Mayor Katy Geissert and council members Tim Mock and Dee Hardison voted against the resolution because they supported an increase of at least 4.4%.

“I see the 0.4% difference as more of a symbolic gesture on the majority side of this council in terms of sending a message to the city that we have to tighten our belts,” Mock said. “I agree with that in principle, but (the savings) is very small in terms of symbolism.”