Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez, while publicly decrying wasteful spending, has been doling out hefty raises to his closest advisors, according to The Miami Herald.
The mayor -- who said less than four weeks ago the government should "do more with less" -- gave 12 employees bonuses that amount to more than 10 percent since last year.
Alvarez's chief of staff, Denis Moralas, received an 11-percent raise and now earns $206,783. By comparison, President Barack Obama's chief of staff Rahm Emmanuel earns $172,200 a year.
Alvarez declined to comment for the article, the Herald reported.
Mayoral spokeswoman Victoria Mallette, whose salary went from $81,319 to $124,999, defended the raises in saying that some of the employees had been “woefully underpaid.”
She also said she is not embarassed about her six-figure salary because she is required to write the mayor's speeches, even though he already has a speechwriter on staff, who only makes $46,000 (and therefore not part of the mayor’s “inner circle”).
But she said that guy’s job is to update the mayor’s Facebook page (which has a whopping 303 followers).
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And that page is almost impossible to find. Just ask the Miami New Times.
