San Diego County employee salaries
San Diego County employee salaries are subject to the California Public Records Act. Investigative Newsource offers a searchable database for 2009 county employee salaries.[1]
San Diego County is located in the southwestern corner of California. The county seat is in the largest city, San Diego, with a population of 3,095,313 according to the 2010 Census. It is the second-most populous county in California, behind its northern neighbor, Los Angeles County.[2]
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Salaries
The total allotted in the FY 2011-2011 Count budget for staffing $15, 687.25. Of this, 44 percent of staff works in public safety, 32.7 percent works in health and human services, 9.3 percent works in land use and environment, 7.4 percent work in finance and general government and the remaining 6.1 percent works in community services.[3]
(Note that San Diego County measures staff numbers by “staff years.” One staff year equates to one permanent employee working full-time for one year.)
| Year | Salaries/Benefits Expenditures |
|---|---|
| FY 2009-10 (actual) | $1,372,207 |
| FY 2010-11 (adopted) | $1,625,803 |
| FY 2010-11 (amended) | $1,538,985 |
| FY 2010-11 (actual) | $1,382,457 |
| FY 2011-12 (adopted) | $1,677,430 |
| FY 2012-13 (approved) | $1,715,201 |
The approved budget expenditures on employee compensation for FY 2012-13 are the highest in the three prior fiscal years.
| Title | Salary (maximum annual) |
|---|---|
| Assessor* | $199,139 |
| District Attorney* | $252,782 |
| Sheriff* | $229,424 |
| Treasurer* | $177,923 |
| District 1 Supervisor | approx. $143,031** |
| District 2 Supervisor | approx. $143,031** |
| District 3 Supervisor | approx. $143,031** |
| District 4 Supervisor | approx. $143,031** |
| District 5 Supervisor | approx. $143,031** |
*Elected officials[5] **Under Article 3.2: Compensation for Board of Supervisors, 3.2.1: Supervisors’ Salary states, “[C]ounty Supervisors (Class 0100) shall be paid an annual salary rate equal to eighty percent (80%) of the annual salary prescribed by law and as adjust by law for Judges of the Superior Court.[6] Compensation for superior court judges statewide is $178,789 (in 2009).[7]
Of the elected officials, the District Attorney earns the highest salary of $252,782.
The highest earners in the county include "Temporary Expert Professionals," who make $324,040 a year. [8] Three of the highest earning positions are those in medical fields. The number of San Diego County employees making $100,000 or more in base salary jumped 31 percent from 2007 to 2009, according to data released by the county government.[9]
| Title | Annual Salary (Maximum) |
|---|---|
| Temporary Expert Professional (*) | $326,040 |
| Temporary Expert Professional, Psychiatrist | $326, 040 |
| Temporary Expert Professional, M.D., D.O., D.V.M. | $326,040 |
| Chief Administrative Officers | $307,840 |
| County Counsel | $276,640 |
| Chief Financial Officer | $276,640 |
| Asst. Chief Administrative Officer | $276,640 |
| District Attorney | $252,782 |
| Chief Medical Examiner | $249,600 |
| Public Defender | $249,600 |
Projected pension cost
The County of San Diego’s credit ratings with regard to pension obligations:
| Moody’s Investors Services | Standard & Poor’s | Fitch Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| Aa2 (GSR) | AA+ | AA+ |
The County’s outstanding long-term principal pension obligation bonded debt as of June 30, 2011 is $841.3 million and $806.8 million projected as of June 30, 2012.[10]
Car use/purchasing
Very limited information is available regarding the purchase of vehicles. [11]
| Department | Quantity | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Sheriff Department | Unknown | $1,501 |
| Fleet vehicles | Unknown | $1,664 |
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.
Importance of public employee pay disclosure
In July 2010, the LA Times uncovered that officials in Bell, California were making remarkably high salaries.[12] 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.[13]
For comparison:[12]
- 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.
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.[14]
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.[15]
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. [16]. 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. [16] The authors of the study recommend three steps towards addressing the problem of high costs in pensions. [16] 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.
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.[17] [18] At the time, it was seen as a safety risk and invasion of privacy.
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.[14] [13]And high-level, highly-paid positions are often not disclosed proactively.[14] 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.
See also
- San Diego Unified School District employee salaries
- San Diego employee salaries
- San Diego County Sheriff, California
- San Diego Police Department, California
- San Diego Fire-Rescue Department, California
External links
- San Diego County 2009 Payroll—Investigative Newsource
- 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
- San Diego County Compensation Ordinance
- [http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/politics/105787943.html "City, County Employees' Salaries Revealed," NBC San Diego, October 26, 2010
References
- ↑ San Diego County 2009 Payroll—Investigative Newsource
- ↑ San Diego County facts
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Total staffing numbers
- ↑ Employee salaries, The County of San Diego, accessed December 10, 2011
- ↑ Elected officials
- ↑ Compensation Article
- ↑ Judges salary
- ↑ Highest Compensated Employees
- ↑ "More county employees making $100K or more," North County Times, November 10, 2010
- ↑ Projected Pension Cost
- ↑ Vehicle Purchases
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Bell city manager might be highest paid in nation: $787,637 a year," LA Times, July 14, 2010
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Benefits push Bell ex-manager's compensation to more than $1.5 million," LA Times, August 8, 2010
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 "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
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 '’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
