My name is Larry Byers. I live in the Cresthills 2 development here in Los Banos. I am a proud member of the Los Banos Tree Commission. From this podium, I‘ve discussed many subjects that begin with the letters T and R. Tonight’s subject is “Transitioning”. No, not that type of “transitioning”.
I’m talking about “Salary Transitioning”.
37 years is a very long time. The year was 1989. Events that year included:
• The Loma Prieta Earthquake (The bay bridge collapsed.) • The Berlin Wall fell (Mr. Gorbachef: Tear down this wall.) • The Exxon Valdeez suffered a huge oil spill
• There were students protesting at Tianemen Square
• The World Wide Web was created. (But not by Al Gore.) And, also 37 years ago, the current salaries were set for the Mayor and the City Council members of the City of Los Banos.
I believe we need to transition from the salaries of 1989 to the salaries of 2026. The timing is right. I trust our mayor and council will make a just decision. No, they won’t get rich. But I am confident they will set their salaries fairly based on what other mayors and councils in similar size cities now earn. It’s the right thing to do.
My vote is to allow our Mayor and City Council to transition to 2026.
Thank you for listening. Larry Byers