Orange County employee salaries
Orange County employee salary information is partially available online for Orange County, California employees.
According to the Facts and Figures provided by Orange County website, the government employs approximately 11.2% of the Orange County population (3,166,461).[1] [2]
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[edit] Salaries and benefits
Thirty-four employees of Orange County, CA make over $150,000 annually when additional pay, insurance premiums, and pension costs are included in total compensation. Based on salary alone, twenty-four employees make over $150,000 annually.[3]
| Title | Salary | Other pay | Pension Costs | Total Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Member, Board of Supervisors 1st Dist. | $143,031 | $25,122 | $38,189 | $218,219 |
| Member, Board of Supervisors 2nd Dist. | $143,031 | $25,122 | $40,667 | $224,689 |
| Member, Board of Supervisors 3rd Dist. | $143,031 | $25,122 | $42,827 | $223,173 |
| Member, Board of Supervisors 4th Dist. | $141,930 | $28,502 | ---- | $184,717 |
| Member, Board of Supervisors 5th Dist. | $143,031 | $18,087 | ---- | $168,714 |
| Assessor | $173,097 | $27,527 | $48,468 | $259,281 |
| Auditor-Controller | $173,097 | $27,527 | $48,303 | $ 264,797 |
| Clerk-Recorder | $139,526 | $24,842 | $41,247 | $217,976 |
| District Attorney | $207,979 | $21,138 | ---- | $245,225 |
| Public Administrator | $139,526 | $24,842 | $18,831 | $192,863 |
| Sheriff-Coroner | $207,979 | $21,138 | $123,313 | $359,518 |
| Treasurer | $79,225 | $14,238 | $23,066 | $119,335 |
The Sheriff/Coroner has significantly higher pension costs ($123,313) than the average employee. [4]
[edit] Top 5 Highest Paid Workers
Listed in order of highest total compensation.
| Title | Salary | Total Compensation |
|---|---|---|
| County Executive Officer* | $253,562 | $370,566 |
| Sheriff/Coroner | $207,979 | $359,518 |
| Chief Financial Officer | $205,722 | $299,343 |
| Deputy CEO- Infrastructure | $202,800 | $292,395 |
| Public Defender | $202,779 | $291,610 |
*Highest paid position. Also note that the County Executive Officer as well as fifteen other employees approved a salary reduction between $332.88-6,339.06. The CEO took the highest reduction.[5]
[edit] Phone use
Cell phone guidelines for purchasing equipment and services, usage, review and reimbursement are published.[6]
[edit] Car use/purchasing
County of Orange FY 2011-12 Equipment Detail[7]
| Department | Number vehicles | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| OC Watersheds | Replacement vehicle (truck) | $40,000 |
| Health Care Agency | (4) Vehicles | $220,000 |
| Building & Safety General Fund | Vehicle (SUV) | $25,000 |
| OC Public Works | Vehicle (SUV) | $24,000 |
| OC Dana Point Harbor | Off-Road Utility Vehicle | $50,000 |
| OC Road | (9) Vehicles | $524,000 |
| Sheriff’s Narcotics Program | Vehicle (SUV) | $60,000 |
| OC County Housing Authority | (2) Vehicles (sedans) | $50,000 |
| OC Housing | Vehicle (sedan) | $30,000 |
| Airport-Operating | Replacement vehicle (truck) | $40,000 |
| OC Fleet Services | (54) Vehicles | $1,965,000 |
| OC Waste & Recycling | (9) Vehicles | $489,000 |
| OC Flood | (11) Vehicles | $860,000 |
| OC Parks | (16) Vehicles | $579,000 |
The total cost of vehicles for FY 2011-12 is $4,956,000[8]
[edit] Salary disclosure
In 2007, the Orange County Register requested current and former County employee names, titles and salaries paid during the 2007 calendar year.[9] The request was reviewed with County Counsel and it was determined that the information requested is generally public and must be disclosed. The county outlined its response process to the Florida Sunshine Law in a county newsletter.[9]
The county wrote that a majority of the data were released in May 2008.[9]
[edit] Redaction
Employees were allowed to request redaction of their names due to safety risk. The requests for redaction were reviewed on an individual basis by a panel consisting of staff from Human Resources Department, Social Services Agency and County Counsel.[9]
If a request for redaction did not prove threat to safety if the employers name were revealed, employees requesting redaction were asked for additional information. Employees then had another opportunity to state the significant threat to their safety for review.[9]
[edit] Requester's motive
The county newsletter outlining the information request noted that the intentions of the paper in requesting salary information were not yet known, and could be published by the paper in hard copy or online.[9] The newsletter noted that the California Supreme Court sees salary information as public, the implication being that motive does not matter.[9]
[edit] Salary records project
In 2011, Sunshine Review chose 152 local governments as the focus of research on public employee salaries. The editors of Sunshine Review selected eight states with relevant political contexts (listed alphabetically):
1. California
2. Florida
3. Illinois
4. Michigan
5. New Jersey
6. Pennsylvania
7. Texas
8. Wisconsin
Within these states, the editors of Sunshine Review focused on the most populous cities, counties, and school districts, as well as the emergency services entities within these governments. The purpose of this selection was to develop articles on governments affecting the most citizens.
The salary information garnered from these states were a combination of existing online resources and state Freedom of Information Act requests sent out to the governments.
[edit] Importance of public employee pay disclosure
In July 2010, the LA Times uncovered that officials in Bell, California were making remarkably high salaries.[10] The Chief Administrative Officer Robert Rizzo was earning a yearly $787,637. It was later uncovered that Rizzo's total compensation after taking benefits into account topped $1.5 million dollars a year.[11]
For comparison:[10]
- Manhattan Beach with about 7,000 fewer people than Bell paid its most recent city manager $257,484 a year.
- Long Beach, with a population close to 500,000, pays its city manager $235,000 annually.
- Los Angeles County pays its Chief Executive William T Fujioka $338,458.
[edit] Corruption solution
After the Los Angeles Times report, governments began to proactively disclose salary information of its employees. Before the end of the Summer of 2010, more than a dozen cities in Orange County, for example, posted salary information on the front pages of their websites.[12]
The cost of transparency websites maintaining such information ranges from the tens of thousands to the hundreds of thousands. These websites also save money, and this often is not taken into account when measuring costs.
Citizens upset about the breach of trust and armed with information formed a group called the Bell Association to Stop the Abuse, which pushed for an independent audit of city salaries and contracts.[13]
Citizens, empowered with information, are key to keeping government free from corruption and efficient. A study published by the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia revealed that the city of Philadelphia has a problem with the efficiency and costs of public employee pensions. [14]. The amount that Philadelphia pays to pension recipients limits the city’s ability to use its budget effectively. The report revealed that there were more individuals receiving pension benefits—33,907 claimants in 2006—than workers in the city—28,701. [14] The authors of the study recommend three steps towards addressing the problem of high costs in pensions. [14] First, improve data collection so that decision-making in terms of pension policies is more informed. Second, promote transparency for better accountability to citizens. Third, reduce costs and use the savings for developing Philadelphia.
[edit] Resistance to public employee salary data as public records
The idea of making public employee salaries is relatively new. In 2008, several local government employee associations and unions protested the posting of state employee salaries by the newspaper The Sacramento Bee.[15] [16] At the time, it was seen as a safety risk and invasion of privacy.
[edit] Sunshine Review aims in posting salary information
Often times, publicly posted salaries leave out important information. Salary schedules can be published are ranges, not as specific take-home compensation.[12] [11]And high-level, highly-paid positions are often not disclosed proactively.[12] Additionally, salaries leave out compensation received through health and retirement benefits, as well as benefits such as commuter allowances and cell phone reimbursements. This project aims to close the gap and provide a more accurate picture of public employee salaries for the sake of public education and transparency.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Orange County official website
- State Budget Solutions -- California
- Sunshine Standard
- California Cities and Counties Mandated to Disclose Public Employees' Salaries, Government Technology, August 11, 2011
- State controller unveils website disclosing city, county employees' salaries," 89.3 KPCC, October 25, 2010
[edit] References
- ↑ OC Facts and Figures 2011
- ↑ OC/Employee Compensation & Employment Contracts Compensation Information for designated positions
- ↑ OC Employees Making $150k+
- ↑ Employee salaries
- ↑ Highest Paid Workers and Salary Reduction
- ↑ Cell Phone Guidelines, Attachment E
- ↑ Equipment detail
- ↑ OC/Departments & Agencies/Finance & Budget/Budget Equipment detail 2011-2012
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 Update: Employee Salary Public Records Request, County Connection, Vol. V, May 2008
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Bell city manager might be highest paid in nation: $787,637 a year," LA Times, July 14, 2010
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Benefits push Bell ex-manager's compensation to more than $1.5 million," LA Times, August 8, 2010
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 "O.C. cities dash to post personnel salaries", Orange County Register, August 10, 2010
- ↑ "California Official's $800,000 Salary in City of 38,000 Triggers Protests", Bloomberg, July 20, 2010
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 '’Philadelphia’s Quiet Crisis: The Rising Cost of Employee Benefits, Pew Charitable Trusts and the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, January 23, 2008
- ↑ "California State Workers Protest Salary Database Publication," GovTech, March 17, 2008
- ↑ State Worker Salary Search, Sacramento Bee
