Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/angelica-amezcua/)
The “performance bonuses” have drawn the ire of the city’s rank-and-file workers, as well as Councilwoman Michele Martinez. Cavazos points out that lower-level workers have benefits – like overtime – that executives don’t.
A majority of council members, led by Mayor Miguel Pulido and Councilman Vincent Sarmiento, want to go beyond the 40-officer expansion of the police force this year.
During a closed-door meeting, the Santa Ana City Council Tuesday night approved a $17,000 performance bonus for City Manager David Cavazos, an incentive council supporters said was needed to keep their “MVP” player.
In a letter to Mayor Miguel Pulido, David Cavazos argues his romantic relationship with a city staffer breaks no laws or city rules. But ethics experts say such relationships pose a conflict of interest and open the door to lawsuits.
The request comes as Mayor Miguel Pulido has raised $44,750 for his legal defense fund to pay legal bills associated with criminal and state investigations into his land swap with a city contractor.
After bowing to public pressure and rejecting a $15,750 bonus for City Manager David Cavazos last month, council members ended up giving him a $3,937.50 salary bump Tuesday.
On July 1, they may comment on a proposal for a new downtown business improvement district that is seen as a compromise of the bitter dispute over Downtown Inc.
Members of the council vote to strip Mayor Miguel Pulido of his power to make appointments to council subcommittees.
In a gesture aimed at decentralizing power on Santa Ana City Council, newly appointed Mayor Pro Tem Sal Tinajero said he will hand off the post to another council member in two years.