Front Page  »  

City study suggests SLO employees are underpaid

August 19, 2014
Katie Lichtig

Katie Lichtig

By JOSH FRIEDMAN

The chief building official for the city of San Luis Obispo receives a base salary of more than $100,000 a year. But, according to a recently published city study, it is well below the industry standard.

On Tuesday, the San Luis Obispo City Council will discuss the compensation report, a study that compares San Luis Obispo worker pay to that of public employees of other California cities. If the compensation study is any indication of the direction city salaries are headed, then employees are in line for pay raises.

The compensation report, which staff compiled under the guidance of a paid consultant, concludes that 50 percent of city employees receive pay below industry standard.

The study singled out several city jobs as positions that are compensated well below the median. For instance, San Luis Obispo’s chief building official earns a base salary of $107,250 a year. The median salary for the position among comparable cities is more than $125,000, according to the report.

In addition, San Luis Obispo currently pays its deputy public works director a base salary of about $122,000. The report indicates that the median pay for the position is approximately $143,000.

Critics of the study suggest that city staff inflated the median salaries in the report by selected cities that compensate generously to use as comparisons.

For example, the Santa Monica city manager receives a base salary of more than $350,000 a year. Neighboring Culver City, which did not appear in the study, pays its city manager a maximum salary of a little more than $250,000 a year. Santa Monica pays its chief building official about $176,000 a year and its network administrator $117,000. Culver City compensates those workers at approximately $149,000 and $96,000 respectively.

Human resources staff stated that it included Santa Monica in the benchmark report because both cities have coastal locations with tourism-based economies and nearby universities.

The only nearby cities included as comparisons are Paso Robles and Santa Maria. City staff did also use the county of San Luis Obispo as a benchmark.

In the report, city staff claims that it placed a focus on statewide coastal cities because San Luis Obispo competes with them for employees. However, the report also says that 57 percent of applicants for city jobs reside in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties.

Nevertheless, human resources staff opted not to use the local private sector labor force as a benchmark which would have lowered the median income. Staff did, though, include analysis of the local labor market in the overall study, as directed to do so by the city council.

Although San Luis Obispo worker pay may stack unfavorably when compared with cities like Santa Monica, city employee compensation has actually spiked in recent years.

Since 2000, general fund staffing costs have approximately doubled, rising from about $21 million to around $42 million currently.

When unions enter negotiation with the city, though, they will have some bargaining chips. Some employees are currently enduring pay cuts from the last round of negotiations, and while the city is very indebted, it also has an investment portfolio of approximately $90 million.

Following the compensation study hearing Tuesday, the council will meet again in closed session on Aug. 26 to discuss a bargaining strategy. Then on Sept. 23, the council will hold a public hearing on employee pay.

Soon after that hearing, city management will likely begin negotiations with representatives of its largest employee group, the San Luis Obispo City Employees Association.

A ballot measure to renew the city’s half-cent sales tax is on the November ballot, and much of the debate over the initiative surrounds whether or not the city has used the tax revenue collected to backfill rising employee salary and pension costs. If the sales tax initiative were to fail, city management has said there is a possibility staff will receive pay cuts.


Loading...
Subjects:             
Related:


67 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

ALERT:


CalPERS has voted to enhance 100’s of ways for employees to boast their salaries for retirement enhancement. Even Gov. Brown is condemning this action which will now cost California Government agencies millions more. Standby, call out, overtime, etc. will now all be added to boast retirement and also give PERS (Public Employee Retirement System) more money to invest and manage.


0

Ridiculous!!!


The salaries are lower than “comparable” cities, yet we are always told San Luis Obispo is “incomparable” to anyplace else on Earth. So pay them what they get and nothing more. You drive 30 minutes from SLO and you can be in half a dozen communities with affordable housing. Drive 30 minutes from Culver City and you are in Watts or Encino; either way you are still in L.A. paying L.A. prices for housing.

While we are on the subject, maybe lower wages paid in a town next to a university is sound policy. The option of a public works job for a civil engineering grad from Cal Poly might be attractive even if it pays 20 percent less than L.A. Most of these kids come to SLO and never leave. Why not give those kids a crack at these jobs first, instead of paying more to get some hack from out of town.


0

I remember hearing that several morons in SLO believe SLO City should “pay the most to city employees because it’s the best city.” That comment made me laugh so hard that I though I was going to puke-up one of my kidneys. It also made me wonder about the baseline competence of some people in this town.


I really like the comparison of SLO to Culver City. While similar in population, CC has far more going on within its somewhat smaller boundaries. The improvement in CC over the past 20+ years has been remarkable which go far beyond Sony Pictures. Not so in the City of SLO.


I’m sure Lichtig would prefer to work in either CC or Santa Monica — both are far closer to her home in LA, but I’m quite sure neither one would hire her. Further, if she somehow did get hired (they would NEVER approve the employment contract she got in SLO) and pulled the crap she does here down there, she would be terminated with prejudice.


0

SamLouis


Sony pictures or studio has always been in Burbank. Culver Studios where they filmed iconic films, like Gone With The Wind were filmed in Culver City


0

Nope. You’re wrong. Just exactly when was the last time you were in CC? It’s been about 90 days for me. Fairly difficult to miss Sony Studios when visiting CC:


“In 1989, Warner Communications acquired Lorimar. That year, Sony hired producers Jon Peters and Peter Guber to run the company’s newly acquired Columbia Pictures unit, even though they had a contract with Warner Bros. To resolve this issue, Warner sold their Lorimar lot to Columbia, among other deals. Columbia had been sharing with Warner Bros. their studio lot in Burbank in a partnership called the Burbank Studios beginning in 1972. Sony sold its interest in the Burbank Studios as a result of the Guber-Peters issue.

Sony acquired the property, first renamed Columbia Studios, in poor condition and thereafter invested $100 million to renovate the studio complex. The property underwent a three-year comprehensive plan as it transitioned to the 45 acres (0.18 km2) Sony Pictures Studios complex. They painted and upgraded the buildings, many of which still bore the names of film luminaries such as Clark Gable, Judy Garland, Rita Hayworth and Burt Lancaster. They erected new walls around the lot and restored the ironwork gates. They also added nostalgic art deco and false fronts on Main Street, plus hand-painted murals of Columbia film posters.


The Sony Pictures Studios has one of the best post-production facilities available and is open to the public for tours. The studio continues to record TV sitcoms such as Rules of Engagement. The long-running game shows Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune and its spin-offs are taped at Sony. The revival of American Gladiators was also taped there.”


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Pictures_Studios


0

Comparing SLO to Santa Monica is like saying it is as challenging to be a police officer in

SLO as it is in Oakland.


0

And yet our police are paid more? Go figure.


0

You want a real laugh compare the salary and benefits of a SLO police officer to a SLO County deputy sheriff and then go on a ride along with both and see where they work. Downtown SLO with backup a minute away vs. California Valley or San Miguel or Oceano with backup sometimes 30 minutes or more away.


0

How about being a cop for the SLOPD vs. the LAPD? SLOPD is a joke in terms of what they are paid.


0

Why do you think they do not want their salary compared to any law enforcement in this County. Wonder what cities are used to compare there salaries because there were none locally? They are probably the 8% that are overpaid!


0

If the employees are truly underpaid, they should have no problem finding employment elsewhere with higher remuneration. They can then quit there jobs. However, if there is no pending wave of resignations, then the market is saying that they are adequately paid.


0

By the way, the comparison Cities used, like Santa Monica and Culver City all have hire standards for staff. All of their building staff have degrees. In SLOtown any idiot can become chief building official and sell permits.


0

“All of their building staff have degrees. In SLOtown any idiot can become chief building official and sell permits.”


Sounds personal, someone not sign off your permit?


That said code enforcement in SLO city neighborhoods is complaint based only (unless your homeless), so all sorts of remodeling is happening without drawings, fees etc.

Construction pirates.


0

Well, let’s see. It took the building department 3 months to review a very modest set of remodel plans for a small commercial project in SLO early this year. I’d rank that a 9 on the management incompetence scale. Not blaming the review staff, but the city organization, specifically the city manager, who would rather recommend high salaries rather than hire the staff necessary to handle the workload.


0

“Having a degree” has in fact proven very destructive to the United States. Degrees from Harvard, Yale and other so-called top schools have proven particularly destructive. Most of the top executives, lawyers, etc. in large American companies have these fancy degrees. Appearantly, what they learn at university is how to lie, cheat and steal and how the rules do not apply to them. They learn everybody has their price including the U.S. Department of Justice and other federal regulators. All these federal agencies are bloated with employees from these same american universities with their fancy degrees. All these public servants expect to eventually be hired into the private sector for big buck salaries, so they won’t bite the future hand that will feed them. Yes, the fact is people with “degrees” have single handly ruined this country. In addition, you will find the more people with degrees in a city’s employment the more corrupt the city government is. If you open your eyes and pay attention you would find this is almost universally true in both government and business.


0

Says the high school dropout.


0

Hardly a high school dropout. I am embarrassed to have to admit it is true, but it is. Simply pay attention to who runs the companies pulling the biggest scams. It can not be denied. “Highly educated people” have really screwed this country because of their greed and believing the rules do not apply to them. Same is true in government. You might not like it, but you have to admit it is the truth.


0

So there we have it in a nut-shell – the reason why the City is so hot to have MEASURE G pass = raises for this people. They are the highest paid employees in the County. Santa Monica is a town of nearly 100,000 people, with a huge diverse populace and business market which includes the entertainment industry. Neither Santa Monica, nor Culver City has a University, but Katie Litchig claims they are both college towns. In fact, her position is far from the truth. Her goal is to see that salary increase for her and her cronies. She has been maneuvering for a big pay-out and $350,000 a year is that pay out. Fire this con artist and her cronies.


0

Culver City is a world away from SLO. It came into being because of aircraft manufacturing and the studios — Sony Studios still has a huge presence in Culver City and the city still has manufacturing jobs. It also is a magnet for business.


CC is a good place to live. Surrounded by LA it has its own police and fire services. An awesome bus service (articulated buses, no funny double-deckers.) The improvement in CC over the past 20+ years has been remarkable.


Lichtig wouldn’t cut it in either CC or Santa Monica. She’s never be hired to begin with.


0

Katie Lickit lives in Malibu have to mistake about this. If you run a google search Malibu pops up, not San Luis Obispo. She was 1 of 3 Assistant City Managers for Santa Monica in charge of Capital Projects following the Northridge earthquake, then she took the position of City Manager for Malibu (60 employees), moved on to Assistant City Manager for Beverly Hills and Brentwood. I am sure she would love to have the Manager position in Santa Monica (Malibu is next door) making that $350,000 salary especially since her husband, Mark Loranger(President and Chief Executive Officer of Chrysalis) still lives in Malibu in their family home. May I recommend she search employment in Southern California, she would be much happier as would we!


0

I suspect SLO was a “recovery job” for Lichtig after getting canned in LA. The problem is any potential future employer need only Google her name and she would never get an interview…


0

Ridiculous. The comps are out of whack and this is getting out of hand..

They’re creating their own reality of what they’re worth… which is artificial and totally out of

line with the real world… (non public sector).

Municipalities shouldn’t be pinned to the wall by what other irresponsible municipalities are

doing, wealthy or not. In the real world, they’d be forced to defend their worth based on

performance… not comps. Or go find another job. This is getting tired.


0

Why not compare SLO to: SM, Lompoc, Paso Robles, etc? Pay cuts might be in order if they did…


0

But that would defeat the process. SLO goes outside the area because they believe they are superior to places with Santa Monica. They get their raises. Then, SM, Paso Robles, etc. say, hey, look at what SLO is being paid. Then they get a raise and the cycle continues.


I have not read today if CAPERS passed a proposed resolution that was to be voted on today whereby State employees base pay would not be the only basis for retire pay. Read the Tribune editorial today! Someone being paid as a public safety officer that gets extra pay because he is a sharpshooter (not required) would have this pay included in retirement. Apparently there were 100’s of ways employees could boast they retirement. Considering the amount of unfunded liability the City currently has in their CalPERS Fund, this could be another disaster for the taxpayers.


Vote No***Vote No***MEASURE G-14*** Vote No***Vote No


0
1 2 3 4 5