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LAPD's oversight board to vote on $100k pay bump for police chief nominee
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, right, and newly appointed police chief Jim McDonnell, center, arrive for a news conference in Los Angeles, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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Jae C. Hong
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The governing body for the Los Angeles Police Department will vote Tuesday on whether to approve an $507,509 annual salary for chief of police nominee Jim McDonnell.
The context: If the L.A. Board of Police Commissioners votes in favor, this would be a significant bump from the current LAPD chief’s salary: Interim police chief Dominic Choi made just under $400,000 in base pay in 2023. The salary for the previous LAPD Chief, Michel Moore, was about the same.
Other department head salaries: McDonnell would not even be close to being the highest-paid L.A. city official: L.A. Department of Water and Power head Janisse Quiñones currently makes $750,000 yearly.
Other law enforcement head salaries: The head of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Robert Luna, currently receives a base salary of $397,340. McDonnell served as L.A. County’s sheriff before being defeated by the controversial former Sheriff Alex Villanueva in 2018. McDonnell’s base salary in 2017, his last full year as sheriff, was $314,178, though he also received about $160,000 in other pay and benefits.
L.A. elected official salaries: If this change is approved, McDonnell would make about $200,000 more than Mayor Karen Bass. The city can’t increase Bass’s salary directly: The base salaries for the mayor and city council members are tied by law to the annual pay for judges in L.A.’s municipal court.
What's next: Even after McDonnell’s salary is approved, the L.A. City Council will still need to approve his nomination. Bass announced his nomination last month.
How to attend the meeting:
- Location: John W. Mack Police Commission Hearing Room, 100 W. 1st Street,Los Angeles
- Time: 9:30 a.m.
- Virtual attendance
- Zoom Video Conference: https://lapd.zoom.us/s/289225944 | Webinar ID: 289-225-944
- Also accessible via phone (877) 853-5257
Go deeper: Read more about Jim McDonnell’s track record and how people responded to his nomination.
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