SOUTH GATE : Police Chief Serving as City Manager
It could be called South Gate’s formula for financial sobriety: Don’t replace the city manager, who left for another job in another city, or his salary of $120,000 a year.
The city decided, instead, to assign the city manager’s duties at least temporarily to Police Chief Ron George and pay him an additional $20,000 a year, making his total salary $113,000. A captain was assigned to pick up some of the chief’s management duties in the Police Department and will receive an additional $400 a month.
The city’s total savings: close to $100,000.
The City Council approved the new arrangement after City Manager Todd Argow resigned to become Hawthorne’s city manager.
It suits Mayor Albert Robles just fine. He has complained that municipal bureaucracies have become weighted down with “dead meat.†Robles pointed out that Baldwin Park did away with the city manager’s post last year.
“They’re getting by fine in Baldwin Park. The entire council now communicates much easier with the city staff,†Robles said. “In a city the size of South Gate, which is only seven square miles, do we really need a middleman?â€
But Councilman Henry Gonzalez emphasized that the arrangement in South Gate is probably temporary. “Ron is a very competent person to hold both jobs temporarily,†Gonzalez said. “But we have to remember he’s only temporary.â€
Gonzalez said the council will probably begin to search for city manager candidates in a couple of months.
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