City Employees Well Compensated, Negotiating Contracts

By Ann K. Williams
Lookout Staff

June 8, 2011 – As negotiations between the City of Santa Monica and its employees' representatives are expected to wrap up this month, a review of this year's salaries gives some inkling of the kinds of numbers that are in play.

More than 600 job categories, most with five pay grades, are shown in a printout updated February 18 posted on the city's website, and the employees' annual pay runs from less than $20 thousand to a good deal more than $200 thousand dollars a year.

Lowest on the totem pole are elected officials. City Council members make $12,889 a year and even the mayor, who pulls in $15,467 a year, makes less than the city's lowest-paid employee. Temporary junior lifeguards and student workers, for example, make $16,640 annually.

At the other end of the spectrum are the City Manager, the City Attorney, and the Fire and Police Chiefs.

The City Manager's pay is $291,552, and the Assistant City Manager's pay can run as high as $221,460 while the Deputy City Manager can make up to $210,924 a year.

Like the Assistant and Deputy City Managers, the City Attorney and Fire and Police Chiefs are paid according to a series of five steps, or pay grades. They currently make the highest grade, or “step 5.” The City Attorney makes $249,384 a year, while the Police Chief makes $209,749 and the Fire Chief makes $202,552 annually.

The highest category of Deputy City Attorneys can make up to $199,692 a year.

While most City salaries run in the range of $50 to $80 thousand dollars a year, some 180 categories in the highest pay grades exceed $100 thousand per year.

Department directors' pay scales top out in the high 100 thousands. The Directors of Public Works, Planning and Community Development, and Transit Services can make as much as $198,804, $193,008 and $191,616 a year, respectively.

And the Directors of Human Resources, of Finance, of Housing and Economic Development, of Community and Cultural Services, and of Community Maintenance have top salaries that range from $167,196 to $181,416.

The top paid Chief Information Officer can make $156,312 annually.

Within a category, there's room for a lot of variation.

For instance, city maintenance workers can make from $39,540 to $48,816 per year, while their supervisors may make as much as $94,872 annually, and their manager's yearly pay may top out at $136,872.

Crossing guards – who are temporary employees – make $27,602 a year, but a crossing guard supervisor – not a temporary employee – can make up to $60,864 annually.

Even entry level workers don't make peanuts in Santa Monica.

A library page brings home $27,602 a year for a temporary position, and a firefighter recruit makes more than double that, bringing home $66,972 at the lowest pay grade for that category.

This is the first year that the city is negotiating with all of its employees' groups at one time.

Benefits – which City Manager Rod Gould and Director of Finance Carol Swindell have told the City Council are a growing problem when it comes time for the city to balance its budget – are not included in the salary figures, and can boost the cost of an employees’ total compensation package by well over 50 percent in some cases.

Gould has publicly thanked city employees, some of whom have agreed to help pay for their benefits, and have foregone bonuses.

Next year's salaries are due to be unveiled before the City Council in July, if negotiations go as planned.

For more information, see the salary listing on the city's website.