Politics & Government
What City Employees in Berkeley Get in Salary, Pension and Benefits
State controller's office releases a list on public payroll. Alameda County has the second highest average salary among counties.
Berkeley has the eighth highest average employee salary among the 477 cities listed in a new public pay study.
The state Controller's Office has put together a chart of city and county employee salary, benefits and pension contributions for municipal agencies throughout California.
The 2011 salary list shows the average salary for municipal workers across the state is $61,059 a year.
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The average salary for Berkeley city workers is listed as $84,315. The total amount spent on city salaries was $124 million.
Below are charts comparing the city with statewide averages as well as the top 10 Berkeley city employees in salary. That chart includes annual pay and what the city contributed to benefits and pensions.
Find out what's happening in Berkeleywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The employees are listed by position only, not name. The wages includes salary, overtime, vacation payouts and bonuses.
Berkeley Statewide Average Population 114,046 64,930 Number of city employees 1,471 620 Ratio of residents per city employee 77:1 104:1 Average wages for city employees $84,315 $61,059 Amount spent on total wages $124 million Amount spent per resident $1,088 Source: California State Controller's Office
Alameda County is ranked as having the second highest annual salary of the 57 counties listed.
The average county salary statewide for 2011 was $59,664.
Alameda County's average salary is listed as $69,386. The total spent on county employee salaries was $646 million.
Here are the top five county employees with wages as well as county contributions to benefits and pensions.
Employee position Total Wages Benefits PensionCounty Administrator
$423,664 $25,332 $40,538 Physician III $305,163 $6,528 $62,683 Sheriff $287,187 $22,872 $165,329 Director, Information Tech $283,256 $16,439 $64,966 District Attorney $279,401 $16,086 $63,907Chris McKenzie, the executive director of the League of California Cities, defended the municipal salaries.
He said high-ranking public employees oversee large departments, manage millions of dollars in funds and have to respond to a complex array of state and federal laws.
He also noted the administrators would be paid much larger salaries if they were doing comparable jobs in the private sector.
"These individuals are the chief executive officers of extremely important local government agencies," said McKenzie. "Would you want a low-paid surgeon to perform your next surgery? You can always go out and find cheaper employees, but you get what you pay for."
Officials with the California Taxpayers Association were asked by Patch for comment, but they did not respond.
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