County submits late pay report to the state

San Benito County has released its annual report of employee compensation as of June 30, 2010 to the California State Controller’s office, after the local government’s report had previously been listed as delinquent.

The database details the departments, positions, salary-schedule minimums and maximums, W-2 wages, benefit formulas, employer-paid portion of employee pension contributions, deferred compensation, and employer-paid health care premiums. The database does not include county or city costs for employer pension contributions to either CalPERS or Social Security or the cost of other post-employment benefits.

Public agencies must periodically hand over their salary information to state Controller John Chiang as part of a push for greater transparency in public employee pay following salary scandals in Southern California. In late December, the controller’s website listed San Benito as one of two counties, along with Marin, as failing to submit the data by a deadline. 

The new data for 437 full-time employees showed the county paid $24.42 million in wages, $1.55 million towards the employees’ share of retirement contributions, and $1.07 million in health care related payments. San Benito County also reported 68 part-time or non-benefited employees who earned $421,000 in wages and an estimated $129,000 in total benefits.

The large majority of that employee compensation comes from a general fund of about $33 million.

City of Hollister records during that period for 131 full-time employees showed the city paid $9.41 million in wages, $606,500 towards the employees’ share of retirement contributions, and $1.26 million in health care related payments. The City of Hollister had 95 part-time or non-benefitted employees – many in recreation, who earned $413,000 in wages and an estimated $45,400 in total benefits.

Hollister’s general fund, which pays out more than 60 percent of employee pay, is about $14 million.

Based on the current CalPERS and Social Security rates, the county paid an added $5.47 million in employer retirement contributions resulting in an overall county benefit rate of 32.8 percent. And the city paid an added $2.5 million in retirement contributions resulting or an overall city benefit rate of 46.4 percent.

The estimated total annual cost of compensation – including estimated pension system payments, but excluding the premiums for long-term post employment medical benefits – was $33 million for San Benito County and $14.2 million for the City of Hollister.

READ THE DATA

The compensation data for the both San Benito County and the City of Hollister can be read through a link at sco.ca.gov/compensation_search.html.