California’s economy is going south at a dizzying rate, but not everyone is suffering, especially in the government. The former city manager of Indian Wells, a town near Palm Springs with a population of 5,000, made a nice chunk of change last year.
Well, perhaps more than a nice chunk. Would you believe a gargantuan chunk? A chunk worth $677,172?
Yes, you heard that correctly. Greg Johnson received $230,697 in salary and another $446,475 in severance pay last year.
This exorbitant sum of money came at a time when public employees in California received more than $17.6 billion in wages. Unlike Johnson, the average chunk for city employees around the state was $61,259.
There was no comment offered by mayor Mary Roche and the city’s interim manager, Roderick Wood.
Not even, “I knew I was in the wrong job.”