Hermosa Beach Official Claims Parking Officers Make Nearly $100K

HERMOSA BEACH (CBSLA.com) — The Mayor Pro Tem of Hermosa Beach claims parking enforcement officers are being paid nearly $100,000 a year.

The 10 officers who cover the area write tickets and handle traffic control, among other duties.

Mayor Pro Tem Kit Bobko said the supervisors make up to $93,000 in salary. Others make roughly $67,000 to $84,000.

In comparison, Los Angeles traffic enforcement officers make $47,000 to $57,000 a year.

"How does the market value this job? Is it worth $90,000 a year? And the answer is, to me, no," said Bobko.

However, the pay includes healthcare and pension benefits.

"The salary number is probably closer to $40,000 to $60,000 a year. But because of the pension and medical obligations that every public employee union extracts from the government, those costs increase by 40 percent," said Bobko.

The police chief and parking officers declined on-camera interviews with KCAL9, but they said the numbers are inflated, incorrect, and many of them make less than $50,000 a year.

Some Hermosa Beach residents had differing views about the situation.

"What do they do to deserve that money? Besides cost me money for tickets I don't deserve?" said resident Doug Vikser.

"I think it's unfair that we're singling them out when there are other ways we're spending money in the city that we could have been more fiscally responsible," said Mike Miller.

Newport Beach has already privatized their traffic enforcement.

A city spokesperson said revenues have spiked more than 24 percent and they're saving $500,000 a year in salaries.