Cooley set to roll in dough
Our ace county reporter, Troy Anderson, reports today that DA Steve Cooley is in for a nice payday:
The proposed salary of $292,300 for District Attorney Steve Cooley would be far higher than the salary of the highest-paid federal judge, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, who brings home $212,100 a year.
[snip]
Under the county's new pay raise system, department heads are evaluated and the chief executive officer recommends a merit raise for board approval each October.
They also receive an annual cost-of-living adjustment tied to the raises employee unions negotiate. Among elected officials, the district attorney, sheriff and assessor receive a cost-of-living increase each year based on the consumer price index.
Lynn Vodden, director of Cooley's Bureau of Management and Budget, said her office worked with Fujioka on the recommendation to increase the district attorney's salary because the ordinance setting the salary has not been adjusted since 1999.
"Since the salary had not been adjusted since 1999 and a new management appraisal plan was instituted by the CEO and approved by the Board of Supervisors, the salary of the district attorney without adjustment would fall out of step with that of other county managers," Vodden said.
In a letter to the supervisors, Fujioka said he also plans to recommend raises for Sheriff Lee Baca, who now makes $268,153, up 10 percent over three years ago, and Assessor Rick Auerbach, who makes $180,134, up 10 percent since 2004.
Ahh, if I'd only gone to law school. And, as an update from today, the supes did indeed approve the raise, upping Cooley's pay $55,000.
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