Measuring Government Performance : A Salary Study of City Workers Is a Good Idea--and Not Just for Huntington Beach

The spotlight has turned again on Huntington Beach and the question of how much it pays its city workers. It is a query worth asking, especially in tough economic times.

Two weeks ago, after losing a lawsuit over its attempt to keep secret the salaries of specific individuals, the city identified its top earners. The tally was instructive, showing how much overtime and benefits such as insurance and pension contributions can add to base pay.

A Fire Department paramedic with a salary of $51,000 a year wound up with total compensation of more than $128,000 last year. Not all of that money was paid directly to him on the spot--insurance and retirement contributions go into separate funds--but the figure was an eye-opener. So was the disclosure that two city department heads who are paid nearly $104,000 a year had total compensation of more than $133,000.

Several City Council members have called the base salaries and benefits competitive with those of other cities and said the city workers earn their pay. That may be true. But the chairman of the Huntington Beach Finance Board, which assists the City Council on money matters, rightly said the city needs “an extremely comprehensive salary study.” The examination would compare the pay of city workers with that of comparable private sector employees.

Undertaking that kind of study is a good idea, and not just for Huntington Beach. As the Rose Institute at Claremont McKenna College noted in its study of government in Orange County several weeks ago, there is a lack of common yardsticks for measuring government performance.

Rose Institute researchers found it difficult to identify the number of employees in city or county government, and their salaries and benefits. Taxpayers are entitled to those figures. It may be that city workers are paid fairly, but without common data it can appear that compensation depends on how shrewdly employees bargain.

Last year Huntington Beach reported it would cost the city $13 million to finance pensions for city retirees who unfairly, but legally, were allowed to inflate pensions by adding sick leave, vacation days and automobile allowances to their final pay. The Legislature rightly passed a law to halt that practice, known as “spiking.”

All cities need to tell residents why they pay the salaries and benefits they do. Workers deserve a good wage, but taxpayers should be able to see they are getting their money’s worth.