If you’re looking for a public service job in Marin County that provides robust benefits, don’t forget to check out the special districts that provide an average $108,100 paycheck.
A new study of Marin’s top 20 special service districts indicates the average pay for full-time workers in four Marin sanitation districts, for example, exceeds $100,000, or at least 15 percent more than average pay at the Marin County Civic Center.
The study by Transparent California, a website detailing public employee compensation run by analyst Robert Fellner for a Nevada think tank, is based on 2014 pay and benefit schedules.
Fellner called the $108,100 average paycheck for full-time special district workers in Marin “shocking,” although several district officials called it competitive pay in line with what similar agencies pay for skilled employees.
The average annual paycheck for 37 employees of the Central Marin Sanitation District topped $121,000 two years ago, some 39 percent more than the $87,000 annual average pay at the county Civic Center last year.
Among the 20 special districts studied, the average full-time employee cost $153,204 in total compensation, including benefits and an average $108,100 paycheck. Average cost of pay and benefits for special district workers in the Bay Area was $155,488; in Los Angeles County, $117,617, and Sacramento Valley, $110,301. The state special district average was $122,458.
Central Marin
At Central Marin Sanitation, the average tab was nearly $172,000. “Central Marin Sanitation Agency’s $172,000 average full-time compensation is off the charts in terms of sanitation districts,” Fellner said. “The biggest driver is their extremely high retirement costs, which are directly related to the extremely generous nature of their benefits.” But Jason Dow, general manager of Central Marin Sanitation, said he was not alarmed by Fellner’s findings and asserted Central Marin’s compensation program was in line with other wastewater agencies. Compensation is typically based on the mid-range in a periodic “independent competitive market survey of 13 to 15 other wastewater agencies in the region,” Dow said.
Transparent California contacted Central Marin Sanitation last summer, seeking the figures, Dow noted. “We provided that data,” he said, adding the numbers reflect wastewater jobs that “are pretty specialized and require focused skills.”
Just as they do at Central Marin, salaries and benefits at Sausalito Marin City Sanitary District are based on a survey of what similar agencies provide, according to Vince Pasquini, a district supervisor. “It keeps us in check,” he said. Average pay for 9 full-time employees was $101,000, and average compensation $141,000.
Top five earners
At Sanitary District No. 5 in Belvedere and Tiburon, average pay for seven full-time employees was $102,000, and average compensation $145,000. Average pay in the Las Gallinas Valley Sanitation District topped $101,000, and average compensation with benefits topped $138,000 in 2014.
The Novato Sanitary District got the job done for much less, with average pay of $88,500, and average compensation, $118,000. The district cut costs several years ago by outsourcing some operations to independent contractors and “it has worked out quite well for our ratepayers,” general manager Sandeep Karkal said, noting district fees are lower than others. “We try to provide value for what we charge.”
Marin’s top five special district pay and benefit earners in 2014 were Southern Marin Fire Chief James Irving, now retired, $374,456; Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit chief Farhad Mansourian, $352,262, (in addition to a $168,000 county pension for service as county public works director); Novato Fire Chief Mark Heine, $370,145; Novato Fire Deputy Chief Adam Brolan, $340,874, and Central Marin Sanitation general manager Dow, $333,590.
$1 million package
Across the Bay Area, San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District chief transportation officer Rodolfo Crespo cashed in $410,945 in unused sick and vacation leave at retirement — the largest such payout statewide and more than double his $171,000 salary, Fellner reported. Crespo also received a $155,248 CalPERS pension, increasing his total 2014 income to more than $565,000.
“Being able to collect over twice your salary in unused leave before immediately collecting a six-figure pension is like getting a golden parachute for your platinum one,” Fellner said.
In Fremont, Washington Hospital Healthcare System CEO Nancy Farber’s $1,068,348 compensation package was the largest of any Bay Area special district worker studied, and two colleagues were the runner-ups: Washington Hospital Healthcare System chief of medical services Albert Brooks had a package costing $532,137, and Washington Hospital senior associate administrator Kimberly Hartz was next at $518,807.
Other top pay and benefit packages included former Central Contra Costa Sanitation District director of operations Curtis Swanson, who cashed in $323,000 in unused leave to boost his total compensation to: $483,722; San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District Chief Paige Meyer, $469,650, and Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority general manager Nuria Fernandez, $449,450.
Overtime earners
Marin agencies did not rank in the top tier of Bay Area special districts with the highest average compensation packages for full-time employees. The first four were fire districts, topped by San Ramon Valley Fire Protection, $269,435. Rodeo-Hercules Fire Protection followed at $256,684.
The three highest overtime earners among Bay Area special districts were BART employees. Police officer Youn Seraypheap’s $169,060 overtime bill increased his total compensation to $359,187; senior police officer David Greene’s $165,743 overtime tab increased total compensation to $344,305, and senior operations worker Andrew Williams’ $137,617 overtime bill increased his total compensation to $267,640.
Finally, of the 681 special districts across the state ranked by Stanford academics, the average unfunded pension liability per capita was $114. But for the 20 Marin special districts, it was more than double that at $252.
Topping the unfunded liability list as reflected by per person served was the Marinwood Community Services District, $646 per capita, followed by Tiburon Fire Protection District, at $574 per capita. Also: Novato Fire Protection District, $502; Kentfield Fire Protection, District, $407; Sanitary District No. 5, $356; Marin Municipal Water District, $333, Central Marin Police Authority, $325; Tamalpais Community Services District, $313; Southern Marin Fire Protection District, $309, and Ross Valley Fire Service, $293.
Debt per person
In better shape from the perspective of debt per person they serve is the relatively new Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit District, serving residents in two counties, $1 per capita. Others include Marin Sonoma Mosquito District, $10; Novato Sanitary District, $52; Belvedere-Tiburon Library Agency, $66 and the Central Marin Sanitation Agency, $74.
Critics note that elected officials have failed to bank enough money to pay for all the benefits they’ve promised employees, leaving a future generation of Marin’s special district taxpayers on the hook to pick up the tab if the stock market fails to meet optimistic investment assumptions. Optimistic assumptions allow officials to minimize upfront payments.
Here’s a link to special district data on Transparent California: http://transparentcalifornia.com/agencies/salaries/special-districts/
Here’s a link to the Marin district study: http://blog.transparentcalifornia.com/2016/01/14/analysis-of-marin-countys-special-districts-2014/