Comments on: COMMUNITY COMMENTARY: Stocks, Gaspar, Bond approve Cotton unearned extra paycheck

By: Local Observer

Local Observer — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 15:44:45 +0000

I was at the council meeting when City Attorney Sabine gave his feeble excuse for authorizing the payment of an extra two weeks of salary to City Manager Cotton. Cotton was on a yearly salary, so what Sabine did is surely illegal. He essentially gave Cotton an unauthorized bonus and a spiked salary for added future pension benefits. This should have come before the council for approval.

Cotton announced his retirement after he didn’t get an added spike to his salary last year. He was given a temporary contract without benefits or vacation time. Still he was paid for three weeks he didn’t work. The council tacitly admitted the mistake by restricting vacation time is the extension of the contract he was given a few weeks ago.

The whole thing has an unsavory aspect to it and seems to indicate a violation of public trust.

By: Jasper Jones

Jasper Jones — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 04:06:38 +0000

It it pretty clear that Mr. Audet has severe problems. Nothing that full-time employment wouldn’t cure.
Those who served on the Cardiff Specific Plan Committee to a man/woman have sworn off further civic participation. Due to his influence?
For a man who doesn’t appear to be gainfully focused, he sure has a lot of access to capital.
Another Bob Bonde acolyte? You betcha.
Hopefully, he doesn’t touch any more of Ms. Gaspar’s campaign signs. Barth Kranz?
Trust that he will create five more online only organizations before the next election.
Demented?

By: OCB

OCB — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 22:43:48 +0000

Cotton signed a contract agreeing to a ‘total base’ salary of 198. All taxpayers owed Cotton was the 198 ‘total’ he agreed to. The extra pay Cotton did not earn spiked his final pension. Stocks, Bond and Gaspar put Cotton’s interest before taxpayers. Read the contract Cotton signed. Watch the video where Stocks and the City attorney ignore the word ‘total’ and teh contract and give away our money. It was 198 in equal installments, be 1 payment or 27 payments, the ‘total’ was to be 198.

Cotton was also given the unearned pay spike behind closed doors when it should have been talked about in public. Lastly, in Oct 09 Dalager got a free kitchen from a guy who wanted his rock wall to remain up, in February 10 then Mayor Dalager voted to let the rock wall remain up but the other members said the rock wall had to come down. In Oct 10 we learned that 7 months after the city ordered the rock wall down, it was still standing. Who was responsible for taking the rock wall down- Cotton, what did Cotton get from Dalager’s city council- an extra paycheck. Encinitas deserves better.

By: local guy

local guy — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 23:07:15 +0000

Reading the coast news while waiting for my Rauls burrito, the first paragraph of this article caught my attention as at first glance a reader might think that a $2.3 million pension crime has been committed. Reading on, I discover that the “issue” is limited to the authors opinion on an “extra” paycheck.

A few observations:

What does the median income of Encinitas have to do with this matter? By that flawed logic, City Workers in RSF should be paid more than those in, say, Compton California.

The author insinuates that Cotton resigned because he was not given a raise. Is this a fact or speculation? Furthermore, there is no explanation of what the “double dip” is, just the red herring statement with no support. Perhaps this is just not properly explained in the article?

Regarding the way Gasper runs her business, I looked at my records and indeed, every few years, I am given 27 paychecks in a single year as I am paid every two weeks and sometimes that’s the way the calendar works out. The “54” week comments are again red herring and may be out of context.

Finally, comparing Encinitas to Bell is ridiculous based on the evidence presented. Is the level of corruption in Encinitas even in the same hemisphere? If so, bring out the facts! One cannot see an ice cube floating on the surface and assume based on gut feel or anecdotal observation that there is an iceberg below.

The article did inspire me to look at the referenced website. I fully support the notion of watchdog groups like these guys, but, come on, if they don’t have more than an opinion on an “extra paycheck”, they risk sounding more like a group with a political agenda than a well-intentioned watchdog group.

By: How much is 2 2

How much is 2 2 — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 19:29:33 +0000

Good points made! It gives one pause to consider that all of the major City contracts have gone through Cotton and Sabine.

The way that these 2 are, they would not be content with a new set of kitchen appliances. They want extra cash and 6-figure City salaries for girlfriends!

How much are Encinitas voters paying for their reciprocal quid pro quo actions. There is nothing outstanding or notable about either of these 2 "public servants."

We should all request the new City Manger end our contract with Sabine. He is an embarrassment.