When I heard Mark Sorensen is going to retire as of June, I realized that the dipshits on city council will be hiring a new city manager over the next four or five months. These people don’t have bargaining skills, they are too quick to give away the store. Historically, the city of Chico has always paid new hires more than the departing manager, for some dumb reason. Which, of course, raises the rest of the department head salaries all the way around, and hey, look out for that pension deficit increase.
I would think, the smarter thing to do would be to hire at a lower salary, with a reasonable promise of raises to come for a job well done. But it’s a common argument in the public sector – albeit tired and untrue – that “we” have to keep salaries competitive to attract better people. I always have to ask – and just how has that worked out for you? It sure hasn’t worked regarding Chico PD, horny bastards.
Meanwhile, Redding has hired a new city manager at less salary than their departing manager, with a significantly smaller benefits package (see letter below for the figures). Dave, check my math – I think they’re saving at least 10%, just in salary. I don’t know how this guy will work out, but I think it was smart of them to rein in their salaries, starting at the top. We’ll have to watch that.
Wow, that Tippin guy must have been roofie-ing the council coffee pot – a $589,000 total benefits package?
We’ll have to watch the upcoming conversation about our new city manager. My district reprobate, Mayor Kasey Reynolds, has told me she believes the salaries she and council have offered are reasonable and necessary to attract “good people” – and then she went and hired those pervert cops! And signed their contracts!
With the current political atmosphere, it’s hard to get people to pay attention to the nuts and bolts. So I wrote a letter about it!
In June 2024, Chico City Council granted two automatic pay raises to manager Mark Sorensen and clerk Debbie Presson. Sorensen was making $212,307.28, Presson close on his heels at $190,271.02. Each has received a 5% and a 7% raise over the last year and a half, setting them up for an extravagant retirement paid for by the taxpayers. Sorensen has announced his retirement as of June, and I expect Presson to make the same announcement shortly.
At last October’s Finance Committee meeting, Councilmember Tom van Overbeek commented he was concerned with the recent increase in Chico’s unfunded pension liability – from $117 million to $180 million over a short period – calling it “startling”. Where was his curiosity when he approved those automatic pay increases? The time is now to discuss the effect these outrageous salaries have on our pension liability. City employees pay less than 20% of their own pension cost, with management paying less than 10%. Now the same council that has approved these salary increases will hire a new manager.
Redding recently hired a new manager, with a new salary of $295,000 – a decrease from the former manager salary of $329,979. Will Chico follow Redding’s example, taking this opportunity to reel in the outrageous and ever-increasing pension deficit?
Ask Van Overbeek, Winslow, and Reynolds – they’re all up for re-election, which is when these people are usually most willing to talk.
Chico Taxpayers Association 