Aug. 20--Compton's mayor and council members have been illegally boosting their salaries for years by paying themselves for commission meetings that sometimes lasted only about a minute, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office has said.
In some cases, officials were paid for the meetings "regardless of whether or not the commission member attended the meeting," the prosecutor's office said in a July 17 letter to the Compton city attorney. The letter was obtained by The Times on Thursday.
Mayor Aja Brown was paid an additional $4,000 a year on top of her authorized salary of $600 a month and the council members $3,400 more, the district attorney said.
Including their monthly council stipend, pay for sitting on four boards and commissions, and their auto allowance, Compton council members collect $55,800 annually, and the mayor pulls in $63,000. Additionally, some council members also receive $150 a month in a cellphone allowance.
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The district attorney's letter is likely to evoke comparisons with the salary scandal in the city of Bell, although the amounts of money involved are much smaller. The practice of municipal officials' getting paid extra for briefly attending commission meetings, along with exorbitant salaries, was a central part of the successful criminal prosecution of four council members and two top-ranking Bell officials.
In the letter, the district attorney warned that Compton officials could be prosecuted if the high payments continue.
"There's no authority of law for the City of Compton to pay public officials money from the public coffers outside the parameters of the city charter," the letter said.
A 2010 investigation by the Los Angeles Times found the meetings of the highest-paying Compton commissions often lasted the least amount of time. The stipends ranged from $300 for the Urban Community Development Commission to $1,000 per month for the Housing Development and Gaming commissions. Council members also earn $1,100 a month for sitting on the Public Finance Authority, and the mayor is paid $1,700.
At least 41 commission meetings lasted less than 10 minutes, The Times investigation found. The district attorney's letter revealed similar findings and said the Housing and Gaming commissions "serve no obvious purpose other than providing additional compensation to the commission members."
Compton City Atty. Craig Cornwell said he plans to meet with the district attorney's office this month to discuss the situation.
A local blog, 2UrbanGirls, first reported on the district attorney's letter.
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