COUNCIL OKS RAISES FOR GENERAL MANAGERS.

Byline: Patrick McGreevy Daily News Staff Writer

The Los Angeles City Council approved pay raises Tuesday averaging 15 percent for six general managers, justifying the salaries as matching the pay received by comparable managers in other government agencies.

Councilman Richard Alarcon initially voted against the proposal, saying he was not convinced such large raises should be granted at a time when the city Department of Water and Power is considering major cuts in its work force.

``I am sensitive to the issue of the fact that we are looking at 2,000 employee layoffs, and I'm not sure this is the right message to send,'' Alarcon said.

However, Alarcon agreed to a request by council President John Ferraro to reconsider the matter and he left the room to allow the measure to pass with a unanimous vote, which means it does not have to come back for a second vote next week.

Councilwoman Laura Chick, who opposed similar pay raises for some of the same managers last year, said her concern has been addressed because the city has completed performance evaluations judging what kind of merit-pay increases the administrators should receive.

``These are the general managers who have been shown through a very scrutinizing process to have more than achieved their goals and objectives,'' Chick said. ``Some of them have saved us money.''

However, city records indicate that not all of the managers have fulfilled a pledge Mayor Richard Riordan made five years ago to streamline city departments.

For instance, the city Airport Department went from a work force of 1,666 employees in 1992 to 1,956 this year.

The agency's budget increased from $205 million in 1992 to $281 million last year as the number of passengers using the airport has skyrocketed.

Airport Department director Jack Driscoll received the largest dollar raise Tuesday. His salary was increased $24,278 to $187,278 - an increase of about 15 percent.

Driscoll received a merit rating of 1, which is the best rating on a scale of 1 to 5, according to a report obtained by the Daily News.

As a result of his high rating, he received the maximum 5 percent merit increase. The rest of his salary hike was to equalize his pay with comparable managers.

Cultural Affairs Department Adolfo Nodal received the largest percentage pay increase - 22.9 percent - as his salary was boosted by $20,072 to $107,588.

Nodal also received a 1 rating and a 5 percent merit raise, which accounted for $4,384 of his salary increase.

Nodal's department went from a budget of $10.31 million and 81 full-time workers five years ago to $10.02 million and 72 workers this year.

Backers of the raises also noted that not all managers have received merit raises.

No merit-pay increases were provided to three of the 10 managers whose performance was evaluated so far. The three not receiving merit increases are City Administrative Officer Keith Comrie, General Services Department head Randall Bacon and Community Development Department chief Parker Anderson, according to Assistant Chief Administrative Officer Paul Cauley.

All three managers received a rating of 3 on a scale where a 5 is worst.

No manager had pay reduced, which is a possibility under the new merit-pay program, Cauley said.

The merit increases were recommended by the city's Executive Employee Relations Committee based on performance evaluations by subcommittees.

Others who received pay increases Tuesday include:

Employee Retirement System manager Oscar Peters, whose pay was increased 18.2 percent or $16,907 to $109,590. He received a merit rating of 2.

Police and fire Pensions Department Manager Gary Mattingly, whose pay was increased 13 percent, or $13,182, to $114,556. He received a merit rating of 1.

Newly appointed Transportation General Manager Tom Conner got $138,748, which is $11,000 or 8.9 percent above the salary of his predecessor.

Newly appointed Harbor Department General Manager Larry A. Keller got a salary of $184,057, about $21,000 or 13 percent above his predecessor's.

Both Keller and Conner have been serving as acting general managers of their agencies for several months but were not subject to the merit pay plan.

Other managers who have been given merit increases not subject to council approval include; fire Chief William Bamattre, who received a 2 rating and a 2 percent merit-pay increase; Environmental Affairs chief Lillian Kawasaki, who received a 1 rating, and a 5 percent merit raise; and Librarian Susan Kent, who received a 1 rating and a 3 percent pay raise.

The council agreed to create a new position of chief information officer for the Los Angeles Police Department, to oversee the computerization and improvements to technology in the agency.

The position will pay $130,000 a year, which some council members said was too high a salary. City analysts had recommended a salary of $123,000.

However, Councilman Joel Wachs said the new position is an important one.

``This will be the person who will head up the entire effort to bring new technology to the Police Department,'' Wachs said.