Watchdog Report | Digging into San Diego's Finances

City payroll sees big gains in high-income earners

By Eleanor Yang Su, Union-Tribune Staff Writer, Agustin Armendariz, Union-Tribune Data Specialist
2:00 a.m. June 30, 2009
(Aaron Steckelberg / Union-Tribune) - THE SERIES

Part 1: City's payroll surged in '08

San Diego's payroll shot up $41 million last year, even as the mayor confronted a budget shortfall and pledged to rein in spending.

Part 2: City workers' pay goes beyond base salary

Thousands of city of San Diego employees receive special payouts and unusual benefits that are pushing personnel expenses higher than ever.

Part 3: City payroll sees big gains in high-income earners

Pay for San Diego's employees has grown increasingly top-heavy in the past several years. One out of eight workers took home at least $100,000 last year.

San Diego city employees earning at least $100,000 are the fastest-growing income group on the payroll, according to an analysis by The San Diego Union-Tribune.

About 13 percent of city employees exceeded the six-figure mark in pay last year, when salary, overtime and add-on pay for reasons such as bilingual skills were included. That's up from 4 percent in 2003, and 7 percent since Mayor Jerry Sanders was elected in 2005.

While this highest-paid group is growing, the proportion of middle-income earners is shrinking and the lowest-paid segment is basically flat.

For many in San Diego, the conventional wisdom of government work being synonymous with low pay and high benefits is no longer the norm.

The shift toward higher compensation is likely the result of recruitment and retention issues stemming from a competitive marketplace for talented people, said Scott Chadwick, the city's chief labor negotiator.

The numbers also could skew high, Chadwick suggested, because advances in technology and changing workplace dynamics have prompted the city to eliminate more than 800 vacant positions, many of them lower paid.

Some observers say the growing polarity in pay is an unwelcome development.

“That is obviously a concern,â€