The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power officially has its new chief, though her salary is raising some eyebrows.
Janisse Quiñones was confirmed as CEO and chief engineer by the Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday to replace the outgoing Martin Adams, who’s helmed the department since 2019.
“This is a transformational period for the Department as we make decisions that will build toward the goal of 100% renewable energy by 2035 and I am confident that Janisse’s experience overseeing large scale organizational operations, improving safety outcomes for workers and restoring and reconstructing electrical systems following Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico equip her to lead the department,” Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement.
While Quiñones boasts more than a quarter century of leadership in the engineering and utilities industries, her compensation package marks a large shift from that of previous chiefs.
Her $750,000 salary is “nearly twice as much as her predecessor,” the Los Angeles Times noted in a headline.
Adams’ salary of $447,082 is just above the minimum salary of about $435,000 approved by the City Council last year. Quiñones’ salary, however, is just under the maximum of approximately $751,000.
Despite that discrepancy, the Times noted that “Quiñones’ salary is in line with top executives’ salaries at the Omaha Public Power District in Nebraska and the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, according to public records.”