Danielson pay controversy briefly addressed by council

By Jeff Forward
Citizen Staff Writer

When a niche newsletter focused on public employee pay revealed that former city manger John Danielson received the equivalent of $4.8 million in compensation for his work with the city, the issue instantly became a hot one in Elk Grove.
Wednesday night, March 25, the Elk Grove City Council briefly discussed the issue, making comments about the controversy before the meeting moved onto other business.
Elk Grove Vice Mayor Sophia Scherman spoke last on the issue, saying that her comments about the issue that she made during a television news appearance on Channel 13 broadcast on March 18 were “not taped in whole” and her whole statement was not broadcast.
Scherman, who voted for Danielson’s repeated contract amendments and upgrades, has been on the city council since Elk Grove was incorporated in 2000.
Fellow City Council Member Steve Detrick has called for an intensive forensic financial investigation of the current and former contracts of city executive staff, and has vowed that he won’t allow something similar happen again.
While other council members such as Detrick, and Council Member Jim Cooper, have decried Danielson’s compensation, Scherman has for the most part been silent on the issue; refusing to comment for an Elk Grove Citizen article published on March 18.
On Wednesday night, Scherman asked her supporters and others to not misinterpret her comments on the TV interview; but she wouldn’t apologize for signing off on Danielson’s repeated requests during his time as city manager from 2001 until 2008.
“I’m not apologizing to you for what I did,” Scherman said. “I did it in the best interest of the city. I apologize if you’re hurt.”
Before she finished, Scherman also said the council can look into it the issue, but that, “I don’t suspect we can do anything.”
For more comments from the city council, view the video or listen to audio at the city’s Web site, www.elkgrovecity.org. The Citizen’s continuing coverage of executive pay in Elk Grove continues on April 1 with an examination of the current pay of the top executives at the city of Elk Grove.
The Citizen has also made California Public Records requests to the Cosumnes Community Services District as well as the Elk Grove Unified School District seeking all details, records, and contracts of top administrators.