THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED WITH A LINK TO CITY OF LAKEPORT SALARY INFORMATION.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – In response to the controversy over a Southern California city's salaries for its council members and administrative staff, California's controller has posted an online database of salary and benefit information for cities and counties.
In the aftermath of the discoveries about the city of Bell, State Controller John Chiang announced in August that new reporting requirements were being put in place for all California cities and counties, and that he planned to have the information available by November, as Lake County News has reported.
The information is now available at http://lgcr.sco.ca.gov/.
“The absence of transparency and accountability invites corruption, self-dealing and the abuse of public funds,” Chiang said in a statement released by his office. “This Web site will help taxpayers scrutinize local government compensation and force public officials to account for how they spend public resources.”
The Local Government Compensation Reporting Web site covers elected officials and public employees, including minimum and maximum salary ranges; actual wages paid; the applicable retirement formula; any contributions by the employer to the employee’s share of pension costs; any contributions by the employer to the employee’s deferred compensation plan; any employer payments for the employee’s health, vision and dental premium benefits; and shows employees who hold multiple positions within a single local agency.
The controller reported that 83 percent of all cities and counties successfully complied with these new reporting requirements. Seventy-four local governments submitted incomplete or unformatted records, and the controller’s office is currently working to collect the appropriate data.
The site includes information from the city of Lakeport and the county of Lake, but information for the city of Clearlake is missing.
Clearlake Finance Director Roy Mitchell said last Tuesday that he was working on meeting the new requirement. Two days later, he abruptly resigned, which City Administrator Dale Neiman informed the council of that same day.
Controller spokesman Garin Casaleggio said the data was due to the state by Oct. 1.
Neiman told Lake County News that he believed he had sent the state the information in late September, however, Casaleggio said that, as of last Friday, “We have not received anything from Clearlake and have not had any calls from them, either.”
Chiang's office reported that governments that don't report the information in a timely manner could face penalties as high as $5,000.
Casaleggio said the controller's office is updating the submitted information on a weekly basis.
Assessing Clearlake's numbers
Lake County News requested and received from Neiman detailed salary and benefit information for city employees.
City council members receive $3,600 annually, as well as city health insurance coverage, amounting to $8,772 annually for Curt Giambruno, $17,088 each for Chuck Leonard and Judy Thein, $22,908 for Joyce Overton and $9,391 for Roy Simons.
Neiman said the difference in cost is explained by a city rule approved last year that pays for a council member's existing, outside health insurance plan if it's less expensive. “By doing that we save money.”
He said Overton's higher insurance rate is because she has family members also on the plan.
The city's highest paid official is Police Chief Allan McClain, who receives a base annual salary of $115,140. He was hired on at $114,000 a year in June 2007, and received a 1-percent salary increase from the city council in October 2009, according to city documents.
His total benefit package totals $67,392; plus payroll costs and salary the total cost to the city to cover McClain's position is $189,131.
McClain's lieutenant, Craig Clausen, has a base salary of $75,722.52, he receives $57,672 in benefits and with other assorted costs his job cost totals $141,720.
Neiman, whose job was reduced to a part-time position earlier this year due to budget constraints, originally received a base salary of $120,000, which has since been reduced to $70,000.
He receives $26,000 in travel costs annually to commute to his home in Humboldt County. That, along with payroll expenses, brings the total city cost for his employment to $103,753.
Instead of health benefits, he receives city-paid contributions to a deferred compensation plan. His amended contract, accepted in July, has him as an hourly employee, with his hourly rate at $70. He gets time and a half for every hour worked over 40 hours in a week.
In the recent contract, he does not accrue vacation or executive leave, but he has amassed vacation and leave valued at $13,902.24 which must be paid to him on his last day with the city or Jan. 5, 2011, whichever comes first.
City Engineer Bob Galusha's position costs the city $92,289, including a $63,964.80 base salary and $26,000 in travel costs to commute to Redding.
Galusha, the city of Redding's retired public works director, is a part-time, 960-hour employee because he is a member of the Public Employees' Retiree System, according to the terms of his contract, which originally took effect in July 2005. His hourly rate is $55.
The part-time finance director position has a base salary of $63,751.58, with $15,600 originally allocated to cover Mitchell's travel costs from Fort Bragg. The hourly rate for Mitchell that was stated in his May 2010 contract was $66.63. Total allocation for the position is $85,620.
Public Works Director Doug Herren receives a base salary of $61,033.32. With all benefits and payroll costs his position total is $93,858.
City Clerk Melissa Swanson receives $3,600 annually for her clerk's position and a base salary of $46,487.04 as an administrative assistant. With insurance and other costs her two positions cost the city $83,920.
The city reported that its employees receive a 2 percent at 55 retirement formula, while police officers receive a 3 percent at 50 formula, which Neiman said he believes was implemented in 2000.
“That's part of the financial problems that we're having now,” he said, noting that city retirement costs went up by 50 percent as a result.
He said the city can't change retirement plans for existing employees, only future ones. He's broached with the council and the police officers association the topic of changing retirement to 2 percent at 50 for police, because the current formula is “simply not sustainable.”
The Lakeport data
For Lakeport, the data submitted to the controller shows that planning commissioners Tom Gayner, Suzanne Russell, Ross Kauper, Harold Taylor and Marc Spillman make $600 annually, compared to the $3,600 annual payments to city council members Suzanne Lyons, Jim Irwin, Ron Bertsch, Roy Parmentier and Bob Rumfelt. The council members receive health benefits ranging between $5,236 and $15,260 annually.
City Attorney Steve Brookes' annual salary is $50,796, with $2,400 in deferred compensation and $15,260 in health benefits. City Clerk Janel Chapman earns $48,024 each year and health benefits totaling $5,306.
The police chief's annual compensation ranges between $62,184 and $94,584, plus $5,306 in health benefits. Brad Rasmussen has been named interim chief in the wake of Kevin Burke's departure to take the chief's post in Healdsburg.
Richard Knoll, the director of redevelopment, housing and economic development, has a salary range of $61,044 to $92,832 and health benefits totaling $16,076. Utilities Director Mark Brannigan and the finance director have the same salary scales, with Brannigan receiving $15,260 in health benefits, and $10,475 for the finance director position, which recently was vacated by Janet Tavernier.
Lakeport's city engineer, Scott Harter, and public works superintendent, Doug Grider, both have a salary range of $55,356 to $84,228, and each receive $15,260 in health benefits.
The city manager's position, now held by Margaret Silveira, has an annual salary range of between $95,004 and $114,996, making it the highest-paid city position. No health benefits are listed.
Most city staff receive a 2.5 percent at 55 retirement formula, with police receiving 2 percent at 50.
A look at the county of Lake's numbers
For the county of Lake, supervisors receive $57,690 annually, with the board chair receiving $60,090. Board members Rob Brown, Denise Rushing, Anthony Farrington, Jim Comstock and Jeff Smith receive health insurance ranging between $6,175 and $8,181.
The county official with the highest salary range is the public health officer, earning between $115,130 and $139,941, with $8,095 in health benefits. Dr. Karen Tait holds that title.
The pay range is $101,879 to $123,835 annually for the county administrative officer's job, held by Kelly Cox, who receives $6,089 in health benefits, the same range and benefits as are offered to County Counsel Anita Grant. Social Services Director Carol Huchingson's salary range is $90,207 to $109,647, with health benefits totaling $8,181.
Sheriff-Coroner Rod Mitchell receives $106,973 annually and $9,600 in health benefits, and District Attorney Jon Hopkins receives a $109,647 salary and health benefits totaling $8,181.
Most county staff members receive 2 percent at 55 retirement packages, with sheriff's sworn staff and deputies, probation and juvenile hall officers, and correctional officers receiving 2 percent at 50.
Last week, the controller mailed letters to 828 transit, waste disposal, fire and police protection special districts requiring the submission of the same payroll information by Dec. 13.
The controller's office said that over the course of several subsequent phases, the state's remaining 2,535 independent special districts will be subject to these same new reporting requirements now imposed on cities and counties.
Chiang's office reported that it anticipates completing the Web site with all special district and state employee information by June of 2011.
Lakeport City Manager Margaret Silveira told the Lakeport City Council earlier this year that there are plans to post the same city compensation information that was submitted to the state on the city's Web site at some point in the future.
That information, including contracts of top officials, has been posted at p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }a:link { }
www.cityoflakeport.com/departments/docs.aspx?deptID=75&catID=164 .
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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