Editor,
Misrepresentations are circulating about compensation paid by the city to our treasurer, Laura Parisi. Let’s set the record straight. Your vote should be based on truth, not exaggeration and misinformation.
Laura’s base salary is $6,450 per month ($77,400 per year), plus the benefits other city employees receive. For the last several years, the council granted her exceptional performance pay, up to 5%, and Laura has also taken the additional responsibility of reviewing our hotel bed tax, the transient occupancy tax.
In 2015, the city chose Laura to resolve a complex accounting problem. She spent hundreds of hours correcting an error the city (not Laura) made on a document submitted to the federal government. Neither the city nor the outside auditor caught the error; it was discovered by our new auditing firm. Regardless of the responsibility, it had to be addressed. Laura had the skill set and we asked her to complete the task.
The Laguna Beach City Council selected a subcommittee to determine appropriate compensation for Laura’s work. Steve Dicterow and I, as the subcommittee, recognized that we did not have the expertise to understand the complexity of this task and what was necessary to correct the errors. We sought a respected local CPA to determine whether Laura’s request for compensation was appropriate. He confirmed that her request was appropriate. And he added that if we were forced to use an outside firm, the cost would have been much higher.
Other comments have surfaced in an attempt to malign Laura’s reputation and integrity. Remarkably she’s been accused of being overqualified. Doesn’t Laguna deserve the most qualified to serve us? Not only is Laura a CPA, she is the only CPA working at the city. She has the training to be a watchdog for the city and the public.
Cities without this independent and qualified oversight run increased risks of improper handling of funds. Recently millions of dollars were embezzled from the City of Placentia.
What a shame it would be to lose Laura as our treasurer.
Toni Iseman, Laguna Beach
The author is mayor pro tem.
