A new report shows full-time Fremont city employees last year pulled in an average of $176,705 in salaries and benefits — the seventh highest amount in the Bay Area among 95 cities surveyed and eighth highest in the state out of 391 cities surveyed.
The report was issued by the Nevada Policy Research Institute, a research organization that produces a database on public employee compensation, dubbed Transparent California.
Meanwhile, since the report’s release June 20, the city’s two highest paid officials saw their salaries go up even more.
The Fremont City Council at its July 12 meeting unanimously and without discussion gave City Manager Fred Diaz and City Attorney Harvey Levine 3 percent raises.
The bump raises Diaz’s base salary to $295,580 and Levine’s to $282,554. With benefits and “other pay” factored in, Diaz’s total compensation jumped to $409,021 and Levine’s to $430,268.
Police Chief Richard Lucero is the city’s third highest paid employee. He received $404,810.23 in total compensation last year, including a base salary of $246,231, according to transparentcalifornia.com.
The next 15 highest paid employees are in the police and fire departments.
Lucero and all other sworn police and fire personnel received a 4 percent raise effective July 1. All other city employees received a 3 percent boost, also effective on that date.
In 2015, median salary and benefits for a full-time employee in Fremont was $164,367, a little below the average of $176,705, according to the data report.
The median was $135,564 in Newark and $129,682 in Union City.
Marc Joffe of the California Policy Center said the salaries and benefits of Fremont employees are a “lot higher” than those of Union City employees. And although the salaries of Fremont employees are similar to those of Newark employees, their benefits are considerably more.
In Newark and Union City, the city’s top cops are the highest-paid employees followed by the city managers.
Newark Police Chief James Leal tops that city’s list with total salary and benefits of $314,762.46, including regular pay of $199,908. City Manager John Becker’s take was $294,073.92, including a salary of $218,196.
In Union City, Police Chief Darryl McAllister’s total compensation was $311,262, with salary accounting for $215,498. City Manager Antonio Acosta’s total compensation was $287,127, with a salary of $213,778.
Although average Fremont salaries ranked seventh highest in the Bay Area and eighth highest in the state, Deputy City Manager Brian Stott said the city aims to be in the middle of the market for salaries.
“We do try to be the median,” said Stott, who oversees the human resources and information technology service departments and leads the city’s labor relations and budget teams.
Stott said more than just salaries are taken into consideration in the city’s position-by-position survey of total compensation. For example, he said, Fremont employees contribute more toward their pension funds than Newark or Union City workers.
And because of the robust economy and availability of good paying jobs in Silicon Valley, the city is “finding it hard” to compete for employees, he added.
In an effort to get a handle on costs, he said the city in 2011 reduced medical and pension benefits for new hires.
Mayor Bill Harrison said he believes Fremont, as the fourth largest city in Bay Area, appropriately compensates its employees.
“We don’t try to be at the top of the list or the bottom of the list,” he said. Rather, the city aims for the “sweet spot” in the middle, he added.
As for Levine, who came to the city in 1995, and Diaz, who came in 2004, Harrison said longevity is a factor in their pay as well.
“I’ve been here a long time and Fremont pays its employees well. That’s how that happens,” Levine said about his own salary, also noting the high costs of living in Silicon Valley.
Diaz said he is comfortable with what the city pays its employees.
“We have among the leanest staffing per capita in the area and I believe we are the lowest staffing ratio in Alameda County. Having said that, we make up for it by attracting very talented employees at every level,” he said in an email. “These employees are innovative, hard-working and wear several hats. The taxpayers get their money’s worth when it comes to the employees of the city of Fremont.”
The city posts its compensation data for salaries and benefits at fremont.gov/2208/employee-compensation.
Contact Julian J. Ramos at jramos@bayareanewsgroup.com or (510) 661-9920 or follow him on twitter.com/julianjramosmp.
