Posted by Tea Partyer, a resident of the Old Mountain View neighborhood, on Aug 8, 2010 at 8:34 am

The Mercury news nailed it. This is absurd. And they want to tax our phones even more now. We need to march on City Hall

Posted by Ann T., a resident of the Blossom Valley neighborhood, on Aug 8, 2010 at 8:45 am

Isn't this the same City Council that wants to give low interest home loans to police and fire personnel so they can live in Mountain View?

All this extra money should have been used instead for city-funded after school academic enrichment programs, parks and recreation and athletic activities to help our kids stay healthy and fit.

It all makes me wonder why I have to pay so much to use the lap pool at Eagle Park and why the city threatens to reduce hours due to a lack of funds.

All these people collecting large checks and the council approving them are morally and ethically corrupt. Shame on them. Shame. Their egos are out of control.

Posted by GSB, a resident of the Shoreline West neighborhood, on Aug 8, 2010 at 8:57 am

The fact that MV has been able to keep a balanced budget and not cut major services, unlike neighboring cities, tells me that Duggan is doing his job.

Posted by Pam, a resident of the Whisman Station neighborhood, on Aug 8, 2010 at 9:07 am

The fact that MV has been raising fees on nearly every service tells me that Duggan is not doing his job.

Posted by Big Al, a resident of the Old Mountain View neighborhood, on Aug 8, 2010 at 9:38 am

I didn't realize we had so many rich Republicans working for the city. At least Obama will tax them more for making above $250,000!

I too wonder where all this extra money could have gone to. Maybe the city leaders will throw us loafs of bread during the next parade, or volunteer in the soup kitchen once a year during their retirement and between trips to Europe.

Mountain View Councilwoman Margaret Abe-Koga recently said the city should "toot our own horn" about efforts to cap vacation and sick-leave cashouts. Still, the city of 75,000 had some of the county's highest average compensation for employees: Median total compensation for police and firefighters is $190,591, and for other workers it's $123,754.

And when it comes to its top employees, Mountain View doesn't skimp. City Manager Kevin Duggan earned a salary of nearly $280,000 last year, eclipsing San Jose City Manager Debra Figone's salary of almost $265,000.

Police Chief Scott Vermeer earned $287,161. By contrast, San Jose Chief Rob Davis was paid $230,177.

Posted by Rachel, a resident of the St. Francis Acres neighborhood, on Aug 10, 2010 at 3:16 pm

I see no evidence of corruption in this article. Our city's public employee salaries seem to be generally consistent with other comparable cities in our area, perhaps a bit higher. If these salaries are objectionable to you, what do you think would be more appropriate? The overage certainly won't add up to a lot of "extra money," when it comes to the cost of providing city services.

Maybe it would be informative if we knew more about the day-to-day activities of these officials since most of us probably only think of them sitting with taciturn faces at City Council Meetings. I found the following comment in the article interesting: "Running a small city can be more difficult in some respects," (--Steven Frates, director of research at the Davenport Institute at Pepperdine University's School of Public Policy). I wonder why?

Posted by Lollie, a resident of the Shoreline West neighborhood, on Aug 10, 2010 at 3:57 pm

"Our city's public employee salaries seem to be generally consistent with other comparable cities in our area, perhaps a bit higher."

Boy, I guess you really missed the point of the article then. The salaries of Mt. There's no use trying to educate you. However, I would like to sell you a bridge.

Posted by "Just Think About It", a resident of the Cuesta Park neighborhood, on Aug 14, 2010 at 9:05 am

Why not structure Mountain Views city employees salaries and benefits around jobs in private industry with similar complexity and responsibility? Think about it...............