City spreads around wealth
By: Joshua Sabatini
Examiner Staff Writer
January 5, 2009
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| At a time when The City is looking to cut back on costs, hundreds of city employees cashed in on costly overtime in 2008. (Examiner file photo) |
As officials face one of the largest deficits in San Francisco history, about 30 percent of city employees took home more than $100,000 in pay in 2008, with hundreds earning large amounts in overtime, according to payroll data obtained by The Examiner.
The number of The City’s largest bread winners — those earning more than $150,000 in regular pay alone — is increasing, from 596 in 2007 to 683 last year, figures provided by the City Controller’s Office show.
With The City in the throes of a financial crisis, the impact of deep cuts to basic
services could land these high-wage and top-overtime earners in the cross hairs of those seeking to soften the blow of budget
slashing.
The Police Department had one of the largest groups of employees, 1,919, who took home at least $100,000 in pay, with 39 earning more than $152,000 in regular pay. Overtime was paid to 1,850 employees, with 62 receiving at least $50,000.
Police Inspector Michael Gaynor racked up the most overtime in the department, receiving $139,458 in addition to his base salary of $115,319.
Sgt. Lyn Tomioka said the department has specific guidelines for officers’ overtime: Usage is monitored weekly and overtime must be approved by supervisors as well as commanding officers.
County Jail nurse Christian Kitchin was the highest paid in 2008, earning $332,601.30 in compensation, including $182,890 in overtime — the most overtime earned by any city employee.
About 5,500 of the nearly 8,800 workers who brought home in excess of $100,000 received a total of $103.6 million in overtime pay. Fifteen city workers piled up more than $100,000 in overtime. Among them were police inspectors, transit supervisors, deputy sheriffs and one firefighter.
Three deputy sheriffs took home about $150,000 apiece in overtime. Undersheriff Jan Dempsey said the department must meet minimum staffing requirements and is short staffed, making the overtime necessary.
In July, the Board of Supervisors and Mayor Gavin Newsom attempted to crack down on overtime by adopting a measure that caps hours at 624 per year, per worker, and also prevents employees from working more than 80 hours of overtime a week. The law, however, allows waivers under certain conditions for emergency workers.
Dempsey said the new law will reduce overtime pay per employee in 2009, but not overall, only spreading it out among more workers.
Supervisor Chris Daly said The City is in discussions with bargaining units about re-opening labor contracts, with talks about salary reductions, among other cost-saving measures.
Daly said he was “committed” to ensure there is “chopping from the top,” and when there are frontline workers laid off there needs to be “corresponding cuts to the top levels.”
By June 1, Newsom must figure out how to close a projected deficit of about $500 million for the fiscal year beginning July 1. He has already notified 409 city workers that they will be laid off and implemented $71 million in budget cuts last month to close the current year’s deficit.
| Department | Name, position | Regular pay | Overtime |
| Public Health | Christian Kitchin, special nurse | $132,739.57 | $182,890.09 |
| Sheriff’s | Barry Bloom, deputy | $79,775.24 | $156,758.71 |
| Sheriff’s | Antonio Santiago, deputy | $79,775.26 | $154,702.68 |
| Sheriff’s | Whitney Yee, deputy | $79,775.26 | $151,105.29 |
| Police | Gaynor, inspector | $115,319.59 | $139,458.27 |
| Sheriff’s | Jason Ragual, deputy | $79,775.23 | $136,512.46 |
| Muni | Arnold Kermit, transit supervisor | $84,326.00 | $117,947.59 |
| Police | Valerie Matthews, inspector | $115,319.84 | $116,038.46 |
| Fire | Gary Altenberg, firefighter | $94,279.32 | $115,288.44 |
| Muni | Lawrence Lee, electrical mechanic | $75,812.00 | $109,713.51 |
| Muni | Jorge Chavez, transit supervisor | $85,305.82 | $104,057.90 |
| Muni | Orlando Encinas, electrical mechanic | $74,367.00 | $101,449.53 |
| Public Health | Sara Conrad, pharmacist | $126,663.60 | $101,341.51 |
| Muni | Tyronne Julian, transit supervisor | $84,326.01 | $101,336.44 |
| Muni | Wilfred Garcia, transit supervisor | $84,326.00 | $100,670.07 |
Source: City Controller’s Office
