Dear Editor,
I picked up a copy of [a local newspaper] recently and was bothered by the letter from [Vice Mayor] Scott Malsin concerned about losing his benefits. I feel that people serving as city council and school board members should not take benefits as a perk for serving in these capacities. These positions are not their main career. They run on platforms of serving and should not need the incentive of medical and retirement benefits.
For Malsin to plead the desperation of his situation – getting reduced benefits if he stays on the council – shows that his three over-long and unnecessarily wordy articles [a three-part series of opinions published in the News] that worried about the city losing good people because of the change in status of the benefits for full-time employees in police, fire and city hall were more out of a concern for his personal needs rather than for these people.
All of the city council and school board members receive medical, retirement and other benefits from their full-time employment and this is sufficient. Service on city council and school board are not full-time jobs. The expense of providing these benefits to these here today/gone tomorrow-people adds unnecessary costs to both city and school budgets.
If these people are sincere about their desire to maximize the limited funds available for city and school services, they should take a true leadership stand and eliminate benefits for their positions.
Jerry Gottschalk,
Culver City
