Editorial Editorial (March 11, 2005)

Public entitled to full disclosure

By revealing that he received $615,000 in salary and bonus last year, El Camino Hospital CEO Lee Domanico went part way in satisfying a demand in a Voice lawsuit that he make his complete compensation contract public.

But while we appreciate Domanico's change of heart in the matter (he has steadfastly refused requests to reveal his salary since last October), the Voice is continuing to pursue a court-ordered solution that will require the CEO to share all the other compensation arrangements he may have with the district. This could include a loan for a home he has purchased in Hillsborough, and possibly other lucrative allowances such as country club or other memberships in exclusive organizations.

The purpose of the Voice legal action is to make clear that all compensation agreements between public officials and their organizations are public record, and should be available for anyone to see. By simply revealing his salary, bonus and a $9,000 car allowance, Domanico has fulfilled part of Voice's request, but it fails to go far enough.

Domanico's dramatic change of heart at the March 2 meeting of the hospital board came only a day after board chairman Mike O'Conner defended the district's refusal to make Domanico's compensation public. "I think we are legally on solid ground," he told a Voice reporter on March 1.

And in the same conversation about a story written just a day before Domanico revealed that he received $615,000 in salary and bonus the prior year, O'Conner said that the compensation is in the "medium range" when compared to other hospital CEOs around the country. A Voice review of salaries at comparable Bay Area hospitals found no one near $615,000, an amount that has almost doubled since Domanico was hired in 2000 for a reported $350,000 a year.

Residents of the hospital district, which serves Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and portions of Palo Alto, Sunnyvale and Cupertino, have to be curious about why Domanico and the hospital board are now refusing to share the complete compensation agreement. Given the revelations so far, we can only speculate that whatever is hidden must be even more embarrassing than what has already been revealed - that Domanico is receiving more compensation than any other hospital CEO in the Bay Area.

E-mail a friend a link to this story.