FPUD General Manager given pay raise

Joe Naiman

Village News Reporter

The Fallbrook Public Utility District approved a pay raise for FPUD General Manager Jack Bebee.

Bebee had been receiving an annual salary of $220,147. The 5-0 FPUD board vote Aug. 23 increased his salary by 4.5% to $230,053 and also gave him a one-time $5,000 performance bonus for meeting his work plan goals. The salary increase is retroactive to July 1.

"In recognition of Jack's strong leadership of our district and given the fact that he has not received any salary increase in four years, I am pleased to support this salary adjustment," said FPUD Board President Jennifer DeMeo. "Jack has done an exceptional job leading FPUD over the past several years, especially during the pandemic, and has worked in cooperation with our board to ensure that our district remains financially strong while delivering the highest level of service to our customers."

Bebee's salary had not changed since he was appointed as FPUD's acting general manager in 2017. He became the formal general manager in August 2018. Although Bebee is not reimbursed for mileage incurred while on FPUD business, he receives a monthly vehicle allowance of $684.17 and a $75 monthly cell phone reimbursement payment, and those amounts have not changed since 2017. FPUD also pays Bebee's dues for organizations related to FPUD and for publication subscriptions and conference registration fees necessary or desirable for professional development.

The contract's initial salary of $220,147 included a clause deducting $1,800 of that and paying him $218,347 of FPUD funds if he was the FPUD representative on the San Diego County Water Authority board and collected per diem pay for SDCWA meetings. That deduction was eliminated in a subsequent contract. Bebee has been the FPUD representative on the CWA board since January 2018.

In 2020, the FPUD board approved a $5,000 performance bonus for Bebee during closed session performance reviews, but Bebee recommended to the board that the $5,000 instead be split among FPUD's employees who were facing more challenges during the coronavirus outbreak than he was. The money was split between the other 63 FPUD employees, although the matching contribution for Bebee's 401(a) retirement plan was increased from 2.5% to 4.8% and his maximum vacation leave accrual was increased from 248 hours to 270 hours.

Closed session performance evaluation and compensation review discussion for Bebee's salary increase took place at the May, June, and July FPUD board meetings.