The City of Morgan Hill’s wages and benefits for its top administrators place it among the top 20 percent in the entire state, according to a new report.
Salaries for the city’s full-time employees also are among the state’s best, according to the annual report of Government Compensation in California, 2018, by state Comptroller Betty Yee.
But Yee’s report also showed city pay rates are far below those of Santa Clara County, which has the highest average pay in California.
Details provided by Morgan Hill show that while the median annual salary of Morgan Hill’s full-time, full-year employees is $137,319, the large number of part-time and seasonal employees—61 percent in 2018—results in an average annual pay for city workers of $47,946. The average pay for all employees in California’s 467 cities in 2018 was $69,786.
Approximately 20 percent, or 41, of Morgan Hill’s full-time, full-year employees were paid more than $10,000 in overtime in 2018. All but six of these work in the police department, according to the state report.
Morgan Hill City Manager Christina Turner was paid $272,654 in 2018, according to the city and Yee’s report. Public Services Director Christopher Ghione was paid $237,899; City Attorney Donald Larkin was paid $233,875; and Police Chief David Swing earned $223,325 in 2018.
Maureen Tobin, spokesperson for the city, cautioned that the state report is “not a completely accurate representation” because its total number of employees for Morgan Hill includes vacant positions filled during the year. She also said that the city employs “a significant number of part-time, temporary non-benefited employees primarily in the area of recreation,” which affects the overall average.
“Many of these employees are only employed for the summer season,” she said, “The part-time employees in the recreation area are primarily funded through user fees and not the city’s general fund.”
The number of summer workers means that Morgan Hill’s average amount paid for health and pension benefits—$9,253—is significantly below the statewide average for benefits at $21,205, according to Yee’s report, which was released June 25.
Morgan Hill’s compensation report, unlike many other cities in Santa Clara County, does not include any firefighters because the city contracts with CalFire. In other cities, firefighters are among the highest-paid employees. Annual compensation for CalFire assistant chiefs ranges from $231,000 to $348,000, according to Yee’s report.
County pay highest in state
Yee’s report also covered public employees of California counties. It showed that Santa Clara County has the highest average salary in the state: $92,069 for its 22,158 full- and part-time employees in 2018. The county reported separately that its median pay for full-time employees in 2018 was $89,175, based on W-2 reports.
The average annual pay for the county’s full- and part-time employees in 2018 was nearly $10,000 more than the No. 2 county, Alameda, and nearly double the average pay for all Morgan Hill employees.
Salaries for physicians and psychiatrists accounted for most of the highest-paid positions in Santa Clara County government in 2018, according to the state report.
Of the top 100 highest-paid staff, 93 were physicians, four were nurses and three were administrators: the county fire chief, ($508,214), chief medical examiner ($386,415) and assistant public defender ($472, 532).
County Executive Jeffrey Smith, at an annual salary of $373,347, wasn’t among the county’s top 100. Yee reported that 460 Santa Clara County employees earned more than $250,000 in 2018.
Similar reports on compensation in state government departments, California’s state universities and superior courts are to be released this month.
For details, visit https://publicpay.ca.gov
City Hall’s Highest Paid
Job title wages* health/pension
City Manager, Christina Turner $272,654 $47,948
Public Services Dir., Christopher Ghione 237,899 18,635
City Attorney, Donald Larkin 233,875 45,236
Police Chief, David Swing 224,325 58,532
Asst. City Mgr., Leslie Little 222,183 41,166
Econ. Dev. Dir., Edith Ramirez 207,425 38,058
Comm. Dev. Dir., Jennifer Carman 204,859 29,904
Police Officer, Ronald Hoefling 203,224 42,825
Police Captain, Shane Palsgrove 197,959 53,131
Police Sergeant, Mario Ramirez 195,356 46,427
*Includes overtime
Note: Does not include fire protection, for which the city contracts with CalFire.
Annual compensation for a CalFire assistant chief ranges from $231,000 to $348,000.Source: Government Compensation in California, 2018
