Mr. Average Gets A Raise
What do you do when your City Manager is spectacularly unspectacular? If it’s Fullerton you give him a raise.
See, in Fullerton if you’re a City Manager who avoids getting drunk and driving over a tree before trying to evade the law, you’re doing pretty darn good.
And so Mr. Eric Levitt, who has been City Manager for less than 2 years is getting an 8% raise from $250,000 to $270,000. This gentleman is hardly any different than the two temps who preceded him and gives precisely the same deference to an incompetent collection of underlings. In the past 20 months he hasn’t shown any interests in establishing a corps of excellence – just the opposite in fact, and this must be cause for comfort for a City Council that thrives in a culture of not bad is outstanding – just try not to let us make ourselves look too bad.
Last year, the City Manager predicted dire economic issues ahead for Fullerton, massive deficits, of course; and by the end of 2023 Levitt had already started paving his own path of least resistance by hiring a public opinion pollster to drum up support for a general sales tax. This year’s mission will be to revive the ill-fated Measure S, give it a new letter from the alphabet, and let the cops and emergency medics pitch it to the public.
What a performance.
There isn’t a single competent City Manager in north Orange County.
They’re all interchangeable. And they’re all mediocre – at best.
You’re being generous. There isn’t one who reaches the height of mediocrity. They all aspire to be 50th percentile! Right now, they’re all bottom decile at best.
Levitt is proof positive that you don’t need any leadership ability, talent, or a track record of success to be Fullerton City Manager. Honestly, you could pick any random person from the street and have a fighting chance of getting someone who is more qualified and will perform better than that circus clown.
He seems really weak. But that must be why they hired him.
Interview question #1: Will you back me up?
Interview Answer #1: Yes, of course.
Let’s face it, when your predecessors include Domer and Felz YOU can get over the bar.
They should call it Measure Z, Z for Zahra, of course, the unemployed “doctor” who doesn’t pay any taxes.
Poor Levitt is one of those guys who loses your confidence as soon as he starts to speak.
But, yeah, the bar is set so low, WTF, give the guy a raise and a cookie, and tell him to stay away from the bar.
No competent, capable, talented, and skilled person would work in Fullerton. Only the sloths, bummers, and dregs are attracted because well, birds of a feather…
Is anyone good enough?
The best way to measure a city manager’s success is by counting how many ready to retire staffers he fired. Ergo Levitt=0. Fullerton losses again.
Fullerton pays the lowest salary for city manager. You get what you pay for. Since all this blog does is complain. You also get what you deserve.
Oh, let’s give him even more. That way he’ll get better. With that sort of logic we’re bound to get lucky!
Preach!
Didn’t think anyone would be worse than Jung. Mayor Jock Strap or chubby Tony Romo is. Both voted for a raise. Sheep!
Dunlap seems more interested in giving us sports reports than being a fiscal conservative.
Wheeze. Go Bruins!
I believe ballot initiatives need to be submitted to the Registrar’s Office sometime in June so I would expect to see presentations on a new sales tax measure starting in March and the city council voting to put it on the ballot in May. Expect to see lots and lots of junk mail from the fire and cop heroes bleating their tales of woe and suffering and if they only had more of your money they could make Fullerton a less shitty place to live this Summer and Fall. Never mind the fact that Fullerton is fucked specifically because of the greedy fire and cop unions. No thought whatsoever to alternative ways to cut those bloated cost centers before asking to raise taxes.
Good summation.
https://transparentcalifornia.com/pensions/search/?q=Joseph+Felz
Laughing all the way to the bank, bitches….
The problem is universal. California’s system has created a superman position and there is no nobody but very average, 55 year-old bureaucrats who are “qualified.” And by qualified, I mean have spent a lifetime as a government employee watching other lifetime government employees be city managers.
Looking for a talented government employee? Someone honest and diligent? Good luck.
You know, I have never seen anything that looked like a good City Manager. They’re all the same. Priority #1 is pension spiking for themselves. #2 is protecting inept underlings (and their own ineptitude). #3 is repeat #1 and #2.
Talented City Managers are like unicorns. There are legends that don’t actually exist.
And there’s always a rainbow around the corner when you hire a new one. But then you find out they’re all the same sort of mediocre sleezers.