Our survey of public employee salaries continues today with the Portland Development Commission, the city's "urban renewal" agency. They do well over there -- but not nearly as well as at places like Tri-Met and the Port, which partially explains the absence of Goldschmidt cronies from the executive ranks at the PDC.
Anyway, our figures are supplied to us by the PDC, whom we asked for a list of all those employees making more than $100,000. According to what was sent us by Frederick Davis-Brown, PDC legal assistant, for the year ended May 31, 2009, there were 27 people whose gross pay exceeded that amount. At the top was Bruce Warner (right), the PDC executive director, at $177,809. Behind him was Erin Flynn, urban development director, at $149,178; and Julie Cody, chief financial officer, at $138,560.
In all, there were seven execs making more than $125,000. The average employee in the top 20 made $123,929. Here is the rest of the top 10:
There are many questions that could be raised about the PDC, but the salaries paid to the folks at the top of the agency aren't among them. By comparison, the real money is at places like Tri-Met and the Port.
Comments (15)
I'm sorry but I am just as offended by these salaries as I am with any of the other agencies examined. What was Mazziotti's salary before he left? Are you saying that Goldy is not linked to the PDC?
Potter ran the Goldschmidt crowd out of the PDC. They may be back already, but I doubt it. Don Mazziotti, currently pulling strings for the Paulsons on the infernal stadium deal, is also affiliated with the Portland Family of Funds, a shadowy PDC "spinoff" from the Don's days running the PDC.
Is 10,000 a month enough?
What do these people need this much money for?
Do you know anyone who gets by (and pays taxes) on 20,000 a year?
Why is this or that person worth so much more than another?
Can this system survive?
What offends you about these salaries? You may object to the way the PDC operates, but salaries for top people in an organization being in the low 100,000's is not obscene by any means. If you want talented managers to work in the public sector, you need to pay them decent wages.
Seems as if the median family are the servants of all these talented managers.
Note: HUD has determined that the 2007 Median Family Income 100% (MFI) for a 4-person household in the Portland Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is $63,800, $3,100 less than in 2006. HUD has explained that this decrease resulted, at least in part, from the use of a new formula to calculate MFI. Because HUD-funded programs throughout the Portland MSA set eligibility criteria, rental rates, and other program elements based on the HUD MFI, this decrease could trigger a wave of eligibility reviews
and disqualifications, lease revisions, and other program changes. To avoid this, HUD has instructed all jurisdictions to make no changes to the values of 30% MFI, 50% MFI, and 80% MFI for households of all sizes in 2007. The values will remain at the 2005 levels. (HUD also held these values constant in 2006, when the MFI took a small dip.) You may rely on the information in this table to determine eligibility, rental rates, and other program elements for all federally-funded housing and community development activities in 2007.
MEDIAN INCOME FOR A FAMILY OF FOUR (PORTLAND, OR): $63,800
That figure for median income sounds high. Does the "Portland Metropolitan Statistical Area include the usual federal figure geographic realm of Vancouver/Portland/Beaverton? If so, the Pearl, West Hills, Beaverton and Lake O salaries may be skewing the average.
This figure could explain why the city considers $900 a month for a one-bedroom or even a large studio apartment, "affordable."
Portland's recent MFI at $66,900 certainly explains why the PDC has quietly promoted that Work Force Housing be included in the Affordable Housing category. The 30% of Urban Dollars designated to Affordable Housing allows an income of $80,280 to have taxpayer subsidized housing (120% x $66,900).
PDC is trying to raise the bar so that most of its employees and the CoP's to have Affordable Housing. Who's left to pay?
I wouldn't have a problem with those salaries if I had any idea what a PDC is or why we need one. I do understand why we have a Port since that is a legit business that needs to be run. Metro seems like an useless extra layer of micro-managers and my guess is that the PDC also falls into that camp.
Someone at some point must have been handing out jobs as political favors. The problem is that 20 or 30 years later we're still stuck with all these pigs sucking on the teat.
It would be a fair assessment to tack on another 50% in benefits for any public sector position, which is why the real money and taxpayer commitment is in the head count. So unfortunate.
I would bet money that off shore payoffs make up the difference... but I can't prove it.
Back 10 or 15 years ago when Homer and co were connected to the Russian banks on Naru, I am sure that was part of the deal. Also very shadowy but not beyond a doubt.
I can't imagine what the Internal Audit Manager does for 118K.
Knowing how PDC deosn't keep track of crap there's not a whole lot of auditing to be done.
Unless it's snacks and office supplies.
Does that person audit how much money is spent in an UR scheme?
Perhaps they've seen the UR check register for SoWa?
Charamba, Douro 2008
Horse Heaven Hills, Cabernet 2010
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills Pinot Grigio 2011
Avignonesi, Montepulciano 2004
Lorelle, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011
Villa Antinori, Toscana 2007
Mercedes Eguren, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Lorelle, Columbia Valley Cabernet 2011
Purple Moon, Merlot 2011
Purple Moon, Chardonnnay 2011
Abacela, Vintner's Blend No. 12
Opula Red Blend 2010
Liberte, Pinot Noir 2010
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Indian Wells Red Blend 2010
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2011
King Estate, Pinot Noir 2011
Famille Perrin, Cotes du Rhone Villages 2010
Columbia Crest, Les Chevaux Red 2010
14 Hands, Hot to Trot White Blend
Familia Bianchi, Malbec 2009
Terrapin Cellars, Pinot Gris 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2009
Campo Viejo, Rioja, Termpranillo 2010
Ravenswood, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2010
Waterbrook, Reserve Merlot 2009
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills, Pinot Grigio 2011
Tarantas, Rose
Chateau Lajarre, Bordeaux 2009
La Vielle Ferme, Rose 2011
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio 2011
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir 2009
Lello, Douro Tinto 2009
Quinson Fils, Cotes de Provence Rose 2011
Anindor, Pinot Gris 2010
Buenas Ondas, Syrah Rose 2010
Les Fiefs d'Anglars, Malbec 2009
14 Hands, Pinot Gris 2011
Conundrum 2012
Condes de Albarei, Albariño 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2007
Penelope Sanchez, Garnacha Syrah 2010
Canoe Ridge, Merlot 2007
Atalaya do Mar, Godello 2010
Vega Montan, Mencia
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2009
Portuga, Rose 2011
Revelation, Chardonnay, Pays d'Oc 2010
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 2005
Monte Alto, Tinto Reserva 2005
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Cabernet, Indian Wells 2009
Espiral, Vinho Rose
Vin-Koru, Pinot Gris 2011
14 Hands, Hot to Trot Red 2009
Rodney Strong, Cabernet, Sonoma 2009
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #11
Portuga, White 2010
La Bourgeoisie, Red 2009
Januik, Red 2009
Three Rivers, River's Red 2008
Kirkland, Alexander Valley Merlot 2008
Muga, Rioja Rose 2010
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
The Occasional Book
Neil Young - Waging Heavy Peace
Mark Bego - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2012 ed.)
Jenny Lawson - Let's Pretend This Never Happened
J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Timothy Egan - The Big Burn
Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt
Road Work
Miles run year to date: 21
At this date last year: 52
Total run in 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269
Comments (15)
I'm sorry but I am just as offended by these salaries as I am with any of the other agencies examined. What was Mazziotti's salary before he left? Are you saying that Goldy is not linked to the PDC?
Posted by RANZ | June 9, 2009 12:43 PM
Potter ran the Goldschmidt crowd out of the PDC. They may be back already, but I doubt it. Don Mazziotti, currently pulling strings for the Paulsons on the infernal stadium deal, is also affiliated with the Portland Family of Funds, a shadowy PDC "spinoff" from the Don's days running the PDC.
Posted by Jack Bog | June 9, 2009 12:59 PM
Is 10,000 a month enough?
What do these people need this much money for?
Do you know anyone who gets by (and pays taxes) on 20,000 a year?
Why is this or that person worth so much more than another?
Can this system survive?
Posted by jussaskin | June 9, 2009 1:18 PM
RANZ,
What offends you about these salaries? You may object to the way the PDC operates, but salaries for top people in an organization being in the low 100,000's is not obscene by any means. If you want talented managers to work in the public sector, you need to pay them decent wages.
Posted by Anon | June 9, 2009 1:21 PM
Where's the talent?
Posted by Bark Munster | June 9, 2009 1:30 PM
A "Deputy General Counsel" but no "General Counsel"?
Seems unusual.
Or does PDX City Attorney Linda Meng wear the "General Counsel hat?
Posted by Nonny Mouse | June 9, 2009 1:31 PM
Their website shows a new general counsel: Eric Iverson. Since he's new, he would not show up on their list for the year ended May 31, 2009.
Posted by Jack Bog | June 9, 2009 1:32 PM
Seems as if the median family are the servants of all these talented managers.
Note: HUD has determined that the 2007 Median Family Income 100% (MFI) for a 4-person household in the Portland Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is $63,800, $3,100 less than in 2006. HUD has explained that this decrease resulted, at least in part, from the use of a new formula to calculate MFI. Because HUD-funded programs throughout the Portland MSA set eligibility criteria, rental rates, and other program elements based on the HUD MFI, this decrease could trigger a wave of eligibility reviews
and disqualifications, lease revisions, and other program changes. To avoid this, HUD has instructed all jurisdictions to make no changes to the values of 30% MFI, 50% MFI, and 80% MFI for households of all sizes in 2007. The values will remain at the 2005 levels. (HUD also held these values constant in 2006, when the MFI took a small dip.) You may rely on the information in this table to determine eligibility, rental rates, and other program elements for all federally-funded housing and community development activities in 2007.
MEDIAN INCOME FOR A FAMILY OF FOUR (PORTLAND, OR): $63,800
Posted by Bark Munster | June 9, 2009 1:36 PM
That figure for median income sounds high. Does the "Portland Metropolitan Statistical Area include the usual federal figure geographic realm of Vancouver/Portland/Beaverton? If so, the Pearl, West Hills, Beaverton and Lake O salaries may be skewing the average.
This figure could explain why the city considers $900 a month for a one-bedroom or even a large studio apartment, "affordable."
Posted by NW Portlander | June 9, 2009 3:41 PM
Portland's recent MFI at $66,900 certainly explains why the PDC has quietly promoted that Work Force Housing be included in the Affordable Housing category. The 30% of Urban Dollars designated to Affordable Housing allows an income of $80,280 to have taxpayer subsidized housing (120% x $66,900).
PDC is trying to raise the bar so that most of its employees and the CoP's to have Affordable Housing. Who's left to pay?
Posted by Lee | June 9, 2009 4:12 PM
I wouldn't have a problem with those salaries if I had any idea what a PDC is or why we need one. I do understand why we have a Port since that is a legit business that needs to be run. Metro seems like an useless extra layer of micro-managers and my guess is that the PDC also falls into that camp.
Someone at some point must have been handing out jobs as political favors. The problem is that 20 or 30 years later we're still stuck with all these pigs sucking on the teat.
Posted by andy | June 9, 2009 4:26 PM
PDC = Portland Developer's Coin-purse. Hope that helps, Andy.
Posted by RANZ | June 9, 2009 5:52 PM
It would be a fair assessment to tack on another 50% in benefits for any public sector position, which is why the real money and taxpayer commitment is in the head count. So unfortunate.
Posted by dave g | June 9, 2009 6:51 PM
I would bet money that off shore payoffs make up the difference... but I can't prove it.
Back 10 or 15 years ago when Homer and co were connected to the Russian banks on Naru, I am sure that was part of the deal. Also very shadowy but not beyond a doubt.
Posted by portland native | June 9, 2009 7:43 PM
I can't imagine what the Internal Audit Manager does for 118K.
Knowing how PDC deosn't keep track of crap there's not a whole lot of auditing to be done.
Unless it's snacks and office supplies.
Does that person audit how much money is spent in an UR scheme?
Perhaps they've seen the UR check register for SoWa?
Now that's funny.
Posted by Ben | June 9, 2009 8:34 PM