Here is an editorial from the Palo Alto Daily POST. It criticizes the excessive salary of Caltrain CEO Mike Scanlon. Thank you, Palo Alto Daily POST.
There have been several entries on this blog making the case that Caltrain management doesn't need a bailout from the residents and citizens of the three county Peninsula unless and until they get their own house in order. We have detailed the basic requirements for such an organizational restructuring in this blog.
This issue would not have surfaced if the CHSRA development intentions for the Caltrain corridor had proceeded as planned. But, now we know that the rail authority is obliged by their funding sponsors, the FRA, to begin construction in the Central Valley. Given the enormous costs of everything that is related to HSR planning and construction, it seems far less likely that we will see any Caltrain corridor development any time soon.
Therefore, that leaves Caltrain and their ambitious development plans up in the air. And, that in turn permits the spotlight to shine on their perennial operational deficits, projected to be $30 million next year.
Are you following this? Typically, organizations such as this just love capital development growth. Photo ops., ribbon cutting, big amounts of money being distributed to favorite contractors, etc. However, maintaining adequate subsidies in times of economic belt-tightening? Not so glamorous.
If anyone should have figured out Caltrain's subsidy problem a long time ago, it's the Caltrain CEO, since he's also the CEO of Caltrain's subsidy funding source, SamTrans.
So, let me ask you; do you know to whom the Caltrain operation reports that is responsible for the oversight and accountability of this public organization? Don't tell me it's the JPB, since they rubber-stamp anything the CEO says.
In the face of this really troubling situation, the emerging Friends of Caltrain have not publicly discussed their intentions. We should, however, be learning about them soon, since they will involve taxing all of us to provide those subsidies for Caltrain. How much of a voice will those of us on the Peninsula have as this tax is leveled on us?
Will they also require a quid pro quo response from Caltrain? Or is this just more of the same political playbook that we've suffered from over the past several years by these same politicians playing footsie with high-speed rail?
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http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BATN/message/47847
Published Friday, January 14, 2011,
by the Palo Alto Daily Post
Editorial
Transit agency's pay is excessive
A group has formed to save Caltrain, and it is considering a tax to help support
the commuter railroad. Getting the voters to support such a tax won't be easy
given the high salaries Caltrain is paying its employees.
A Post analysis of the payroll of the San Mateo County Transit District, which
includes Caltrain and SamTrans, shows that the number of employees making over
$100,000 increased from 86 in 2009 to 91 in 2010.
The transit district's total payroll increased 11.5% from 2007 to 2009, at a
time when the economy was crashing and people were losing their jobs or
accepting deep pay cuts. Only in the past year did the district's payroll go
down, but just by 3%.
A third of a million dollars a year
But perhaps the most difficult salary to understand is that of executive Michael
Scanlon. We have nothing against Scanlon personally, but nobody in the transit
district is worth $323,643 a year plus a $24,000 housing allowance.
That's a total $347,643 a year! A third of million dollars! Imagine what his
pension will look like.
This isn't Bell, California.
We know housing here is expensive, but somebody making $323,643 a year doesn't
need another $24,000 for a home. Somebody pulling down $323,643 can qualify for
a home mortgage.
One Caltrain board member, San Mateo County Supervisor Adrienne Tissier, told
our reporter that eliminating his housing allowance, which has been part of
Scanlon's compensation deal for several years, would be like pulling out the rug
from beneath him. She also said that the transportation district couldn't find a
suitable replacement without perks such as the housing allowance.
We disagree. In these down economic times with persistently high unemployment
rates, there are plenty of well-qualified people looking for work.
More innovation needed
The problem is that the boards who hire people like Scanlon compare his pay to
what other transit agency managers get, rather than looking at private sector
pay or on tying compensation to goals.
Why not cut the boss' pay to, say, $75,000 a year, but give him incentives such
as increasing ridership or reducing overhead so that he can get a bigger
paycheck?
Let's make our payroll dollars work rather than saying, lazily, that
compensation ought to be based on what San Francisco and Santa Clara County are
paying.
Like any business, Caltrain and the transit district should be cutting expenses
to match declines in revenue. The district needs to be much more innovative. How
about SamTrans outsourcing the handicapped ride service to ADA-compliant
cabbies?
Caltrain is losing money and is doing little in terms of innovation or
cost-cutting. We like the weekend bullet train experiment, but that's a baby
step in the right direction. We expect more from a $347,643-a-year CEO than
that.
