Merced County government jobs pay less than local cities

Workers with Merced County agencies make less money, on average, than counterparts in some nearby city halls. However, Merced County jobs stack up well against those in the private sector and when compared with other counties in the San Joaquin Valley, a watchdog organization says.

The difference between public- and private-sector pay is greater in Merced County than elsewhere in the Valley, and some of its more visible leaders pull down more compensation than most Valley peers despite its comparatively small population, The Modesto Bee found in an analysis of Transparent California data.

Merced County’s $64,577 average salary compares poorly against government jobs with the cities of Atwater ($84,044) and Merced ($71,984).

The average county employee earned $64,577 with Merced agencies in 2014, compared with $71,984 for the average Merced City Hall job, according to figures released this week at www.TransparentCalifornia.com, which filters the information to reflect full-time, year-round workers.

Stanislaus County’s $60,236 average salary compares poorly against government jobs with the cities of Turlock ($75,882) and Oakdale ($69,336).

Drawing on U.S. census data, Transparent California concluded, however, that even lesser-paying county jobs reward workers more than the private sector.

For example, Merced County’s 83 percent public-private median differential was largest for any county in the Valley. The median measure is a point halfway between low and high wages.

Throughout Stanislaus County, median pay for full-time, year-round workers in private jobs was $39,096 last year, the service said, compared with $54,392 for county jobs, a difference of 39 percent.

That 39 percent gap was the smallest differential among seven counties in the San Joaquin Valley: Stanislaus, San Joaquin, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Kern and Tulare. The eighth, Kings County, did not provide data.

Merced County ranks sixth in population among the seven San Joaquin Valley counties, yet former Sheriff Tom Cavallero and District Attorney Larry Morse both were second-best paid, and Merced County Executive Officer James L. Brown made more than all other Valley government CEOs in total 2014 compensation. That’s defined by Transparent California as regular wages and other pay, plus health and retirement costs.

Stanislaus County, with the fourth-largest population, pays Chief Executive Officer Stan Risen fourth best compared with other counties’ top administrators, in terms of total compensation. Stanislaus County Sheriff Adam Christianson and District Attorney Birgit Fladager are paid fifth-best.

Some compensation experts take issue with comparisons that don’t factor in elements that can skew findings. For example, government jobs often require more education than those in the private sector, said Sylvia Allegretto, co-director of the Center on Wage and Employment Dynamics at UC Berkeley’s Institute for Research on Labor and Employment.

Outrage at news that the small city of Bell was paying exorbitant salaries to several workers, including nearly $800,000 to its city manager, prompted Allegretto to co-write a report five years ago concluding that government employees in California made 7 percent less, on average, than peers in the private sector, or about the same amount when more generous government benefits were factored in.

“California (agencies weren’t) short on budgets because of overpaid workers, but because the economy was imploding,” Allegretto said.

Robert Fellner, Transparent California’s research director, offered a new look at recently released census data with estimates on the rate of growth in the public and private sectors from 2009 to 2014, and tailored a chart to the eight-county San Joaquin Valley. It found that private businesses across the Valley added more jobs than government in that five-year period – 3.6 percent, compared with 2.6 percent. But Fellner also found that government payroll jumped 12.8 percent in the same time frame, compared with 5.4 percent growth in private pay.

Figures were much more bleak for Stanislaus County, where private jobs dropped 2.8 percent, and private earnings grew 1.9 percent – compared with 11 percent growth in Stanislaus government payroll. That includes all public-sector jobs, including school teachers, bus drivers and city hall positions.

Businesses in Merced County, on the other hand, outperformed government in that five-year period, with private pay growing 8.7 percent compared with 8.1 percent, even though government jobs grew 11.9 percent compared with 5.3 percent private-sector growth.

The recession, Fellner concluded, “devastated taxpayers but had virtually no discernible impact on the rate of public pay growth in states that have the strongest public unions, such as California and Nevada.” His organization is a project of the Nevada Policy Research Institute, and Transparent California relied on data gathered from agencies responding to California Public Records Act requests.

A spokesman with the California State Controller’s Office said that agency’s website, with information on 2014 compensation similar to Fellner’s, will be updated next week. The government source lists employee positions without naming names, which TransparentCalifornia.com does.

Other findings regarding Merced County agencies in The Bee’s analysis:

▪ The county reported about 2,040 full-time positions in 2014, and 215 part-time ones.

▪ Six workers were paid more than $200,000 in base salary and overtime pay, and 86 received more than $100,000.

▪ With benefits factored in, 10 administrators cost taxpayers more than $300,000 each.

▪ Among workers paid overtime, 45 of the top 50 hold law enforcement jobs; most are correctional officers. Seven received more than $40,000 in overtime pay on top of regular salaries.

▪ Nineteen received benefits worth more than $100,000 each. CEO Brown ($147,399) topped that list.

This story was originally published December 11, 2015 at 6:59 PM with the headline "Merced County government jobs pay less than local cities."