The Los Angeles Police Department’s governing body will vote Tuesday on whether to approve an annual salary of $507,509 for police chief candidate Jim McDonnell.

The context: If the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners votes in favor, this would be a significant increase in the salary of the current Los Angeles police chief: Interim Police Chief Dominic Choi earned just under $400,000 in base salary in 2023. The salary of the former Los Angeles police chief, michel mooreIt was more or less the same.

Other salaries of department heads: McDonnell wouldn’t even be close to being the highest-paid city official in Los Angeles: Los Angeles Department of Water and Power head Janisse Quiñones currently earns $750,000 a year.

Other salaries of police chiefs: Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Chief Robert Luna is currently receiving a base salary of $397,340. McDonnell served as sheriff of Los Angeles County before being defeated by controversial former sheriff Alex Villanueva in 2018. McDonnell’s base salary in 2017, his last full year as sheriff, was $314,178although he also received around $160,000 in other salaries and benefits.

Los Angeles Elected Official Salaries: If this change is approved, McDonnell would make about $200,000 more than Mayor Karen Bass. The city cannot raise Bass’s salary directly: the mayor and council members’ base salaries are bound by law to the annual salary of Los Angeles municipal court judges.

What’s next? Even after McDonnell’s salary is approved, the Los Angeles 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 am
• Virtual assistance
  • Zoom video conference: | Webinar ID: 289-225-944
  • Also accessible via phone (877) 853-5257

Deepen: Read more about Jim McDonnell’s record and how people responded to his nomination.