Former city manager Bruce Malkenhorst isn’t satisfied with a six-figure pension from the impoverished city he used to run. Now, he’s taken legal action against his old city.
Malkenhorst currently collects $115,000 a year in retirement. His lawsuit, however, seeks to reinstate the other $430,000 per year he thought he was going to receive. The drop in pensions came after a ruling by CalPERS.
The difference of these staggering figures amounts to “elder abuse,” according to Malkenhorst.
After two unsuccessful lawsuits against CALPERS, Malkenhorst’s is taking aim at his former employer, claiming that the city is on the hook for making up the difference since they agreed to pay him a salary of over $900,000.
Malkenhorst’s case is particularly egregious because the City of Vernon rests at a scant population of 91 residents. A $900,000 a year salary amounts to around $10,000 for every resident.
This is audacious move for the former city manager as Los Angeles County prosecutors successfully tried and convicted him for corruption in 2011.
The Daily Bulletin raises a fair question in response: “…could Malkenhorst Sr. possibly do any more to deliver a public-relations blow to public employees? When the sizes of public pensions are already under scrutiny and criticism, his selfish crusade doesn’t help.”
Read the full editorial at the Daily Bulletin.