Fire District Board Passes Tax Increase to Sustain $263,000 Median Annual Compensation
Fire District Board Passes Tax Increase to Sustain $263,000 Median Annual Compensation
The Rodeo-Hercules Fire District board just announced that a new tax increase, known as a benefit assessment, has passed, amidst criticism deriding the measure as unlawful. The District has a long history of budgetary woes, coupled with lavish $263k median compensation packages, amidst a union-backed board known for its aggressive tactics to fight any efforts...
By Robert Fellner
Fire Chief of 17 person District takes home $395K; District seeks property tax increase
Fire Chief of 17 person District takes home $395K; District seeks property tax increase
The Rodeo-Hercules Fire District is located roughly 30 minutes north of San Francisco. The District provides fire protection and emergency services to the City of Hercules and the Rodeo area and had 17 full-time employees on staff in 2013. The District serves approximately 33,000 people over roughly 23 square miles. Recently, the District held a...
By Robert Fellner
Comparing compensation information on Transparent California and State Controller’s site
Comparing compensation information on Transparent California and State Controller’s site
Two is usually better than one, and that’s certainly true when it comes to databases of government employee compensation. In the case of California, there are two main searchable statewide databases. Those sites are TransparentCalifornia.com, which provides information on government payrolls and pensions, and the State Controller’s Office (SCO) Government Compensation website. The main advantage...
By Robert Fellner
Why Frequently Cited Average Pension Numbers Are Misleadingly Low
Why Frequently Cited Average Pension Numbers Are Misleadingly Low
Public pension systems in California, most notably CalPERS and CalSTRS, are quick to cite their average pension amount as evidence that their pension benefits are reasonable. In addition to the pension plans themselves, many defenders of public pension plans will cite these averages themselves when attempting to counter claims that pension benefits have become excessive...
By Robert Fellner
Evaluating Public Safety Pensions in California
Evaluating Public Safety Pensions in California
Summary: To accurately assess how much pension obligations for current workers are going to cost, it is necessary to calculate average pensions for retirees who retired after 1999 when pension benefits were enhanced. Because public safety employees represent about 15% of California’s total state and local government workforce , but an estimated 25% of the...
By Robert Fellner
$170,000+ Average Pay & Benefits for Full-time Employees of Small California Town
$170,000+ Average Pay & Benefits for Full-time Employees of Small California Town
The town of Corte Madera, CA, makes up for what it lacks in size and population, roughly 4 square miles with 9,425 residents, in its exorbitant government compensation packages. City government has approximately 43 full time employees with the average compensation package coming in at over $170,000. That means every man, woman and child in...
By Robert Fellner
Three Ways California Governments Try To Avoid Transparency
Three Ways California Governments Try To Avoid Transparency
Few politicians or government officials publicly oppose transparency in government. After all, transparency isn’t just about information; it’s a tangible acknowledgment that government officials work for citizens, not the other way around. Still, there’s a big difference between mouthing support for transparency and actually fulfilling public records requests as required by California’s Public Records Act. TransparentCalifornia.com,...
By Robert Fellner
How Much Do CalSTRS Retirees Really Make?
How Much Do CalSTRS Retirees Really Make?
Summary: The California State Teacher’s Retirement System (CalSTRS) is California’s 2nd largest public employee pension fund, serving roughly 2% of California’s population. At present, its unfunded liability is officially estimated at $71 billion. While much of the discussion over pension reform focuses on projected rates of investment returns, which greatly affects the required annual contributions...
By Robert Fellner
The Unintended Consequences of High-Cost Health Plans for Public Employees
The Unintended Consequences of High-Cost Health Plans for Public Employees
One of the more alarming data points I have come across while compiling the necessary records for the TransparentCalifornia website has been the large sums of money spent on health insurance for public employees. As our site does not provide individual breakdowns of benefits in an effort to present the information in a uniform and...
By Robert Fellner
California bureaucrats: avoiding transparency or wastefully incompetent?
California bureaucrats: avoiding transparency or wastefully incompetent?
When making requests for information from government agencies, being both an environmentalist and an advocate for government transparency can be doubly painful. It is quite common for public agencies to stall or attempt to deny public records requests, but some methods are just too bizarre to believe. Two separate California school districts – Duarte Unified...
By Robert Fellner