As promised, my new talk show will feature investigative reports to expose the problems with runaway government. First up: Outrageous salaries for government workers – starting with our very own City Hall.
Release is below, but listen to the podcast online at www.KOGO.com or click here:
San Diego, CA – The City of San Diego taxpayers are on the hook to pay some outrageous salaries to city employees, according to an investigative report being released today during the DeMaio-Sullivan Report on News Radio 600 KOGO. The most surprising revelation: an entry-level firefighter took home an astonishing $266,714 in 2014! What else? A standard-classification police officer and lifeguard raked in over $164,000 each.
“These payouts demonstrate the City of San Diego continues to have a problem with outrageous salaries, driven by out-of-control overtime and overly-generous bonus payments,” noted Carl DeMaio. “City politicians claim they have solved the financial problems of the city, but the fact is they have much more work to do before taxpayers trust they are being really protected,” concluded DeMaio.
Among some of the other stunning payouts revealed in the report:
Growth in City Employee “$100,000 Club:” 1723 city workers took home $100,000 or more in 2014 – which equates to roughly 1-out-of-5 full-time city employees. The payouts do not include the cost of employee benefits – a figure that would push total cost-per-employee much higher than what is reflected in the salary report. DeMaio said the inclusion of employee benefits would result in 1-out-of-3 full-time employees costing taxpayers $100,000 or more annually.
Top 10 Payouts: The entry-level firefighter paid $266,714 came in as the second-highest paid city employee in 2014, just behind the city’s chief operating officer who took home $280,708. Six-of-the-ten top city employees work in the fire department.
1. Chief Operating Officer: $280,708
2. Firefighter II: $266,714
3. Chief Financial Officer: $244,571
4. Asst. Chief Op Officer: $230,328
5. Fire Captain: $228,086
6. Fire Engineer: $224,327
7. Ind. Budget Analyst: $220,594
8. Fire Captain: $218,000
9. Fire Battalion Chief: $213,966
10. Fire Captain: $213,360
DeMaio and Bob “Sully” Sullivan will also discuss findings of recent city audits that raise concerns about unsubstantiated bonuses and mismanaged overtime payments occurring within the city – two issues that drive many of the outrageous payouts revealed in the report.