Politics & Government
What El Cerrito City Employees Earned in 2011
The city's municipal employees, on average, earn less than the statewide average — but the ratio of city workers to residents is high.
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 website shows that in 2011, El Cerrito spent $702 per resident on its 364 municipal employees. El Cerrito didn't have a single employee topping $200,000 mark in 2011 (See second table at bottom of article).
In 2011, the city's highest paid position was a batallion chief with total wages of $193,070, according to the figures on the State Controller's website.
Find out what's happening in El Cerritowith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The employees are listed by position only, not name. The wages includes salary, overtime, vacation payouts and bonuses.
The 2011 salary list shows the average salary for municipal workers across the state is $61,059 a year.
Find out what's happening in El Cerritowith free, real-time updates from Patch.
If you haven't explored it yet, the controller's new website has some nifty features for people interested in public employee compensation in California.
El Cerrito Municipal Employee Compensation 2011 Snapshot El Cerrito Statewide Average Population 23,648 64,930 Number of City Employees 364 620 Ratio of Residents per City Employee 64:1 104:1 Average Wages for City Employees $45,608 $61,059 Amount Spent on Total Wages $16,601,354 N/A Amount Spent per resident $702 N/A Source: California State Controller's OfficeChris McKenzie, the executive director of the League of California Cities, defended municipal salaries statewide.
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.
"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."
Benefit Plan Employees' Ret. Cost Covered Deferred Compensation Health, Dental
& Vision 1 Bat Chief-Training $193,070 $41,569 $54,001 -- $20,084 2 City Manager $185,457 $33,209 $13,277 $8,768 $20,185 3 Police Chief $178,939 $49,689 $16,186 -- $1,358 4 Fire-Bat Chief $166,695 $38,913 $12,683 -- $20,185 5 Fire Capt/paramedic $165,268 $37,906 $12,342 -- $20,185 6 Fire Capt/paramedic $160,854 $37,919 $12,347 -- $20,185 7 Fire Chief $158,494 $48,957 $15,975 -- $20,185 8 Fire Captain $158,395 $34,483 $11,227 -- $14,513 9 Police Captain $157,222 $47,188 $15,306 -- $20,185 10 PW Director/City Engineer $154,678 $28,296 $11,296 -- $14513 * The wages includes salary, overtime, vacation payouts and bonuses.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
