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Malibu surfside news | June 7, 2018 | 3
Malibu City Council
Feldman’s salary increase approved
Council votes 4-1 to
pass City manager’s
new contract
Michele Willer-Allred
Freelance Reporter
The Malibu City Council
voted to extend Malibu City
Manager Reva Feldman’s
contract with the City for
another four years, immediately
increasing her annual
salary from $225,000 to
$242,000.
The council voted 4-1
on May 29, with Mayor
Pro Tem Jefferson Wagner
dissenting, to amend Feldman’s
contract, which will
see her pay increase each
year until her current contract
expires.
“The amendment provides
for subsequent salary
increases to $248,000 on
May 3, 2019, $254,000 on
May 3, 2020, and $260,000
on May 3, 2021, each conditioned
upon the City manager
receiving a positive
evaluation from the City
Council,” states the staff report.
Feldman’s contract is to
be up for renewal again in
May 2022.
The salary increase, in
addition to the benefits
Feldman receives, will be
accounted for in the City’s
proposed budget for fiscal
year 2018-19.
City Attorney Christi Hogin
said that the council recently
met in closed session,
and “conducted a candid
and thorough performance
evaluation of the Feldman,
which the council found to
be positive.”
Feldman’s contract can
be terminated at any time by
Round it up
A brief recap of action from the May 29 City Council
meeting
• The council unanimously approved the final reading of
the City’s Dark Sky ordinance, which is intended to crack
down on excessive residential and commercial lighting in
the city. The ordinance, effective Oct. 15, 2018, requires
most outdoor lighting fixtures to be shielded and directed
downwards, regulates light trespass across property lines,
has provisions restricting light pollution near sensitive
resources, and sets some restrictions on string lights.
• The council unanimously approved a request by
Councilmember Skylar Peak for the City to proceed with
a Local Coastal Program Amendment banning the use of
pesticides, herbicides, rodenticides and insecticides in
Malibu. The council also authorized Councilmember Laura
Rosenthal to request that the League of California Cities
Environmental Quality Policy Committee consider adding the
ban of their uses as a priority issue throughout California.
herself or the City.
According to the Transparent
California website,
Feldman received $66,083
in benefits in 2017.
Councilmember Skylar
Peak said he heard criticism
from members of the public
about the amount of money
the City manager is paid,
and asked Hogin if Feldman’s
salary was comparable
to surrounding cities.
“In the end, the Malibu
City manager would be a
well-paid City manager, but
not the highest paid and certainly
relatively comparable
in our watershed and coastal
cities,” Hogin said.
Feldman worked as Malibu’s
assistant City manager
since 2005 before she was
appointed the City manager
in April 2016.
Peak said Feldman “has
really lived up and exceeded
[his] expectations” in her
role as City manager.
Councilmember Laura
Rosenthal said Feldman
serves on many boards, and
she thinks Feldman does an
“excellent job.”
Wagner said he has spoke
to Feldman directly about
some of the concerns the
community has regarding
issues in the City. While he
said that Feldman has done
some good work, he said
he had concerns about the
efficiency of some of the
City’s departments. He also
said he had frustrations with
employee contracts and renewal
amounts.
Mayor Rick Mullen said
the City manager is a key
position in the City.
Mullen said he looked at
what other cities pay their
City managers, and, he said,
if Malibu doesn’t want to
pay Feldman enough to
keep her around, other cities
will.
City hears budget update
The City’s 2018-19 fiscal
year begins July 1, and the
council received an update
on the most recent proposed
budget, which included
items discussed during a
budget workshop in April.
The proposed budget also
reflects the $42.5 million
land acquisition of three
commercially zoned properties
from the Malibu Bay
Company that the council
approved on April 23.
The proposed budget includes
$77.46 million in
revenue and $91.07 million
in expenses. The general
fund budget totals $31.16
million in revenues and
$43.50 million in expenses.
The projected general
fund undesignated reserve
at the end of the 2018-19
fiscal year is $20 million.
Assistant City Manager
Lisa Soghor said the first
draft of the proposed budget
presented to council back in
April reflected a reserve of
$31 million, or 102 percent
of the annual operating budget.
The proposed budget
now includes the use of $12
million from the general
fund undesignated reserve
for land acquisition.
“The projected reserve is
now 66 percent of the annual
operating budget and
exceeds the City’s goal of
maintaining a minimum of
50 percent of the operating
budget in reserves,” Soghor
said.
Other changes to the
budget since April include
the council’s request to increase
minimum wage for
part-time City staff to $15
an hour, and an increase to
the City’s grant program by
$50,000.
At Tuesday’s meeting, the
council asked for another
$9,500 in grants to go to
various nonprofit organizations
in the city.
Soghor said the budget
will be finalized by next
month. The council will be
asked to adopt the budget at
its June 11 meeting.
Wagner’s properties searched
LA County DA
declines to share
nature of searches
Lauren Coughlin, Editor
Malibu
Mayor Pro
Tem Jefferson
Wagner is being
investigated
by the
Los Angeles Wagner
County District
Attorney’s Office.
Warrants were served
Thursday, May 31, at three
locations tied to Wagner,
confirmed Greg Risling, a
public information officer
for the DA’s Office.
“Search warrants were
served today at three locations,
two in the city of
Malibu and one outside of
From may 31
the city, by the Los Angeles
County District Attorney’s
Bureau of Investigation,”
Risling confirmed in
a written statement. “Our
office declines further
comment because of the
ongoing investigation.”
As of press time on
Monday, June 4, the DA’s
Office was not offering
further comment on the
searches.
Calls made to Wagner
and Mayor Rick Mullen
were not returned.
Wagner was appointed
to his second term on
the council in November
2016, and he was sworn in
as mayor pro tem in February
of this year.
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