Thank you, Steve Bousquet, for sticking with the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board’s opinion on the pay raises Hollywood Mayor Josh Levy bullied through under a shroud of dark and unethical actions.
Navigating the stinky rabbit hole Mayor Josh Levy has dug for the city in his July 13 editorial reply, (“Mayor: Pay hike in Hollywood is smart policy”) will lead to a dead end. If they want to be full-time employees and get pay raises, take it to the people. Don’t trample on our Constitution to feather your nests under the guise that more money now means better candidates later.
The city has an ordinance in the city code, Section 32.02, that “the annual salary of each member of the City Commission, including the Mayor, shall be established and amended by resolution of the City Commission.”
The mayor and commissioners were informed of that July 2 when they voted to give themselves double-digit pay raises after doubling their salaries just 17 months ago.
Mayor Levy is a lawyer. He knows the law. He chose to ignore it and conspire with Commissioners Hernandez, Callari, Gruber and Biederman to usurp the spirit and purpose of the law to pillage the city treasury.
We are not an authoritarian city government; we are a democracy. The only way to preserve that democracy is through transparency and accountability.
Steve Welsch, Hollywood
Wrong on several levels
Hollywood commissioners just voted to give themselves a substantial raise. They will receive $70,000 a year and the mayor gets $100,000. They also added “hazardous duty” pay for serving on county or state boards. I always thought that was part of the job.
Part of the rationale for the increases was that being an elected official is now a full-time job. It is more difficult and complicated than when I served, partly because the state has inserted itself into municipal government’s traditional roles, along with somewhat unpredictable revenue shenanigans from the state and the feds.
Some commissioners complained that since this is a full-time job, they should pay themselves a “living wage,” whatever that is. They might also ask the same question of their constituents.
It was always my experience that commissioners held down outside jobs, as is currently the case. They knew the drill when they signed up. They voted themselves an increase just last year, and now want more.
It’s really troubling that passage of this measure took place at a meeting where it was posted as a “presentation.” Somehow, the mayor allowed a vote without public comment. That’s wrong on several levels.
Richard Blattner, Hollywood
The writer was a Hollywood commissioner for 15 years.
A nice parting gift
As a 40-year Hollywood resident, I offer a big thank you to commissioners Caryl Shuham and Idelma Quintana for their wise “no” votes on the amazing pay raise. I’ll bet every employee would love a 35% raise.
This item was billed as a presentation, not a voting item, yet vote they did, with support from two termed-out members (Kevin Biederman and Traci Callari) and the mayor, who’s termed out in 2028. A nice parting gift.
No one forced any of them to run. They knew what it paid and the work involved, especially those in a second term. Biederman said he ran as a labor of love for the city yet had no problem voting for this big raise. Adam Gruber said it’s too big a time commitment and he’s not running again yet he voted for it, too.
I guess we’ll all see what the budget holds and the political fallout for those who voted yes.
Ann Ralston, Hollywood
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