Steve Appel will make $260,004 per year after moving up from the Rubidoux Community Service District's No. 2 slot.
Blog note: this article references a 2013 grand jury report.
The longtime No. 2 official at the district that provides water, firefighting and sewer service to about 26,000 Jurupa Valley residents will take the top job in May — but he won’t get his predecessor’s compensation of more than $450,000 a year.
Retiring general manager David Lopez was repeatedly listed as the highest-paid worker among the Inland Empire’s 43 largest special districts.
In 2013, for instance, the Riverside County Grand Jury singled out his compensation as higher than other general managers’ — and higher than Jay Orr, who was then Riverside County’s executive officer. The last time Transparent California analyzed special district compensation, based on 2014 numbers, Lopez’s compensation was $456,695. In 2016, he made $469,658 — including $313,808 in salary.
When Steve Appel becomes general manager May 16, his yearly salary will be $260,004. The dollar value of his benefits package isn’t clear from his contract, but matches most of the components of Lopez’s.
Lopez said he wasn’t familiar with Appel’s contract and declined to comment on his own.
Appel said he suggested the language in his contract, which board members then approved, after looking at what nearby special districts were offering as they sought new candidates. Appel said he also took into account that he had been the assistant general manager since 1994. Lopez has been general manager for more than 30 years.
“(Lopez’s) salary is reflective of his knowledge and experience and the service he’s given the district,” Appel said. “I’m comfortable in saying my salary isn’t at his level.”
Both executives are worth what the board of directors agreed to give them, based on years of service and unique insights that someone from outside the district might not have, board member John Skerbelis said.
That experience includes transforming a district with poor water quality into one with good water and good rates, he said.
“People beat Dave up over that salary,” Skerbelis said. “I agree it’s a lot of money. But you’ve got to remember … he completely turned it (the district) around.”
Lopez became general manager of the district, which serves mostly the Rubidoux area, more than 30 years ago. Appel became assistant general manager in 1994.
“Steve’s been there 20-plus years and he’s a very knowledgeable, very knowledgeable guy,” Skerbelis said. “He’s going to do a great job.”
Appel, whose main responsibilities as assistant manager include water and wastewater, said he’s proud that the district’s water rates are consistently among the lowest of the dozen or so local agencies they use for comparison.
He attributes that to wise investment in cleanup facilities 20 years ago and said he plans to run the district mostly as Lopez has.
“I don’t plan for any significant course corrections,” he said.
Other residents of Jurupa Valley receive similar services from Jurupa Community Services District, which paid its general manager, Todd Corbin, $228,698 in salary in 2017, the last year for which data is listed. Corbin became general manager of Riverside Public Utilities in 2018.
April 13, 2019
The Press-Enterprise
By Ryan Hagen
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