San Clemente’s Police Salaries
As an Orange County city manager, I read with interest your Aug. 31 article regarding labor disputes between county police officers and their agencies.
The salary comparisons in the report indicated that San Clemente officers currently rank 15th in base salary and 23rd in “maximum compensation” among county police agencies. The figures used in the survey were taken from an Orange County League of Cities survey that was compiled prior to our concluding wage negotiations with our police officers.
A call to our offices would have revealed a base salary that places officers No. 11 (slightly above the median) in the county and No. 16 (slightly below the median) “in maximum compensation,” as opposed to Nos. 15 and 23 as indicated in the article. All other things being equal, increases scheduled for January should place our officers above the midpoint in both categories.
As a past personnel practitioner, I can understand the difficulty in comparing compensation packages from agency to agency, knowing that relationships are constantly changing. However, in light of the importance of the information conveyed in articles such as this, I can only hope that in the future the accuracy of such important information will be determined prior to publication.
JAMES B. HENDRICKSON
City Manager,
City of San Clemente
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