San Ramon Outpaces the Rest of the Tri-Valley in Public Employee Compensation
The highest paid public employee in most cities is usually the city manager. How much a city rewards its city manager is a generally reliable indicator of how well compensated the rest of the city employees are. San Ramon City Manager Herbert Moniz received a gross annual salary of $356,542 in 2009. That amount represents a handsome 10% increase from his 2008 rake. Given Moniz’s oversized compensation package, the fact that nearly half of the 2009 top 20 compensated public employees in the Tri-Valley work for the City of San Ramon is not surprising. Herbert Moniz was paid nearly $140K more than the Tri-Valley’s lowest paid City Manager Nelson Fialho in Pleasanton.
In 2009 over 100 San Ramon employees were given six-figure compensation packages. Most of the Tri-Valley city employees who received more than $100K in compensation worked in the Police Services department. Fire Services staff were excluded from this analysis due to the complexity in assigning employees to individual municipalities. Somewhat surprisingly, cities like San Ramon, Danville, and Dublin had quite a few maintenance supervisors and administrative analysts receiving more than $100K in 2009. Generally speaking, Tri-Valley public employees are paid roughly 30% more than their private-sector counterparts with San Ramon City employees receiving an even greater premium.
San Ramon’s second highest compensated employee last year was Parks and Recreation Director Jeffrey Eorio, who managed to pull in $273,079. That amount is more than 50% above Dublin’s Parks and Recreation Director Diane Lowart Moniz, who earned only $176,060. San Ramon’s Economic Development Director Marc Fontes was paid $193,081 last year, nearly double the $99,904 Dublin Economic Development Director Linda Maurer earned in 2009.
Many San Ramon residents have wondered whether their representatives on the City Council have fallen asleep at the wheel, given these extraordinary compensation packages. Some even believe the City Council is simply allowing City Manager Herbert Moniz to run roughshod over compensation best practices in San Ramon. The gold rush of permit and impact fees indirectly garnered from homebuyers in new developments like Windemere and Gale Ranch have enabled the City of San Ramon to pay its employees handsomely throughout the past decade. With the crushing liabilities from the above market rate compensation packages in the six figures for over 100 employees, San Ramon City Hall is understandably salivating over the development and impact fees the controversial New Farm project in the Tassajara Valley can potentially generate.
Please visit the Contra Costa Times website for additional information related to the 2009 public employee compensation.
6:20 AM on June 3rd, 2010
Excellent story! Now for part 2 – tell us about their benefits and retirement packages. This will give us the full picture of how our local public employees are paid. I am simply amazed that a city manager of a small-ish city (San Ramon) earns over $350k. That is stunning. Makes me wonder what a city manager of a large city like San Francisco or Chicago makes… $1M?
8:01 AM on June 3rd, 2010
I don’t get the fascination with what public employees make. This is not the first time I have seen an article like this on this site. It is just going to anger the people that are haters. If these salaries bother you so much then go work for the city.
6:40 PM on August 3rd, 2010
I would have a long time ago if they told us what the high paid package was. I don’t knoe anyone in San Ramon Making 350+ K and benis.
Al San Ramon
8:42 AM on June 3rd, 2010
Stefani,
You apparently don’t get it.. Our governments are broke and trying to raise taxes left-and-right. You want to know why? Because of the extreme compensation packages that this article refers to… These public employees are paid much more than a private company would pay them and that is the problem- A private company would just go bankrupt, not being able to keep their costs down.. But governments are able to raise taxes on you and I to pay for these employees.. The only way that our taxes will go down is if the governments are able to cut their costs way back– The funny thing is, it seems the governments always cut school programs, and other programs that are not even the most costly ones.. It seems politicians are very reluctant to cut pensions/pay of fire and police services because they may fear the backlash (every single fireman and policeman will vote, and vote against them). Yes, that’s a generalization but it’s true for the most part–
I have no problem with private companies paying their employees whatever they want.. Just don’t ask for public assistance when things go wrong… But you do realize the difference between a private company vs a government entity, right? If you have no problem with these over-the-top salaries and pensions then you truly are the sucker-
9:07 AM on June 3rd, 2010
Duh! I am well aware of everything you mentioned. And no, I am not a sucker. If people have a problem with these folks making such high salaries and getting these wonderful pensions, then try to land a job with the city. The joke is on the people that work in the private sector.
9:23 AM on June 3rd, 2010
These days the line between what is private and public is quite blurred, given all the bailout we see on the Federal level and even here for specific developers in the City of Dublin. As for “Stephani,” her comment encapsulates everything that’s wrong with today’s society. Instead of calling for positive change, she’s saying that if people have problem with the status quo, they should become part of the status quo? “Stephani” essentially believes that if people have a problem with gangs in their neighborhoods, they should become gang members themselves. The point, “Stephani”, is that the joke is on everyone who pays taxes. Sure, we can keep on paying public employees at rates higher than what the market will bear, while we build more below market rate homes that cannot generate their fair share of property tax income for the city. In the end, we will simply end up where Greece is already at.
11:38 AM on June 3rd, 2010
Support you! Totally agree with what you said.
4:53 PM on August 2nd, 2010
You are preaching to someone who may never get it. One person already tried to explain it to her but she repeated the exact stupid logic she started with.
11:42 AM on June 3rd, 2010
Just curious, are San Ramon’s Moniz and Dublin’s Moniz related somehow? To tell you another well-known secret, only those who are politically well-connected can land these fancy government jobs. This is just another form of corruption.
10:51 AM on June 4th, 2010
Just like the federal government agencies, all the directors, administrators, etc are used to exchange political interests. President Obama is no different, no matter how nice his campaign rhetoric is.
http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_15222978
11:50 AM on June 3rd, 2010
What I don’t get is that people here are complaining about fat government salaries, yet most or all of you voted for Obama. Obama is a liberal Democrat, which most people in the Bay Area are too, including most of you (not me, of course, as I’d never vote for a liberal).
Here’s John Z. trying to rile us up by publishing articles like this and he’s clearly upset about it, which he should be. But then I see a big photo of Gloria Romero on this blog, a Democrat who identifies with big government, big spending, and more pork. Which is it? You can’t have it both ways. There’s no such thing is a moderate Democrat anymore; if there was, then Obamacare wouldn’t have passed.
12:34 PM on June 3rd, 2010
State Superintendent is a non-partisan position. If you do some research about Gloria Romero, you would find she is against the teacher’s union, which is what I like. At least she is much better than the other guy Torlakson, whom I do not want to get elected.
9:26 AM on June 4th, 2010
And you are clearly upset about a blog that does not sing praises of public employees every other sentence. Why don’t you start a blog yourself then?
4:51 AM on June 4th, 2010
“The gold rush of permit and impact fees indirectly garnered from homebuyers in new developments like Windemere and Gale Ranch have enabled the City of San Ramon to pay its employees handsomely throughout the past decade.”
That sure sounds nice, but the so-called gold rush of permit and impact fees went to the county. Might want to research and get your facts straight.
9:24 AM on June 4th, 2010
And we should believe you, fellow anonymous commenter, over John Z. because?
3:54 PM on June 4th, 2010
I don’t really care if you believe me or not – it’s fact. There was extensive litigation over the approval of the Dougherty Valley between San Ramon, Danville and Contra Costa. As part of the settlement, the county approved/permitted each subdivision. As it’s completed and occupied, San Ramon annexes it. The permit and development fees are paid to the county. As the city takes over services (public safety, street maintenance, etc) they begin to drawn a part of the funds to pay for them. But since that’s probably not good enough for you, you’re welcome to go down to the county offices to read the several hundred page settlement agreement.
4:07 PM on June 4th, 2010
I don’t really care if you believe me or not – it’s fact. There was extensive litigation over the approval of the Dougherty Valley between San Ramon, Danville and Contra Costa. As part of the settlement, the county approved/permitted each subdivision. As it’s completed and occupied, San Ramon annexes it. The permit and development fees are paid to the county. As the city takes over services (public safety, street maintenance, etc) they begin to drawn a part of the funds to pay for them. But since that’s probably not good enough for you, you’re welcome to go down to the county offices to read the several hundred page settlement agreement.
4:12 PM on June 4th, 2010
And yet you came back and repeated the same comment twice? Yes, please show us how you really DON’T care.
6:00 PM on June 4th, 2010
Hi Anonymous – I think that we’re essentially saying the same thing. Thank you for providing more detail about the timing of when the City of San Ramon receives the impact and permit fees. The bottom line is that the City of San Ramon has been able to pay their Staff considerably more than their Tri-Valley peers in part because of the bonanza of development fees that have been harvested from new communities like Gale Ranch and Windemere. In response to the slow down in development fees, the City of San Ramon has recently put a freeze on hiring and wages – http://tinyurl.com/2ebmzh4. It’ll be interesting to see if and when the layoffs begin now that the development fees have slowed down.
By the way, you seem very knowledgeable about San Ramon politics and government. Are you an employee or elected official of the City of San Ramon?
Thx, John Z.
10:05 PM on June 19th, 2010
Govt employees (city, state, federal) are the new elite. They are the ones driving BMWs and Mercedes, buying 1M homes and vacationing on fancy cruises, while us peasants will work 2 jobs, pay 50% taxes and drive beat up Fords for the rest of our lives.
12:37 AM on June 21st, 2010
Sad but true! Only those who are politically well-connected can land those fancy government jobs, therefore they have to the elites. But the thing is that they feed on us tax payers like parasites.
8:00 AM on June 21st, 2010
Yawn.
9:19 PM on July 9th, 2010
Please read what was said above, the City receives no development fees from Gale Ranch and Windemere. That money goes to the County. The developers originally approached the City with plans to build 8,000 homes in DV. When they were turned down, they went to the County and received approval for 11,700 homes.
Same thing will happen out in Tassajara.
4:35 PM on August 2nd, 2010
Need to check your facts. This document on the city of San Ramon’s own website indicates their citizen advisory group originally recommended a 11,000 home plan. It looks like it got scaled back to 9,000 as what the city eventually endorsed. Both numbers are huge. San Ramon partnered with the County, it was no victim.
http://www.ci.san-ramon.ca.us/plan/images/dvinfo.pdf
4:41 PM on August 2nd, 2010
oh… and the only way Tassajara Valley will get developed will be if the city of San Ramon breaks their urban growth boundary to include it. The city will then enable development there to feed its burn rate (per this blog). The situation with the county partnering with San Ramon on DV happened 15+ years ago before there were voter approved growth boundaries. It can’t happen today if the boundaries are left alone. Vote NO on San Ramon’s growth measure in November
6:11 PM on August 2nd, 2010
Hi PT – KPIX did a story on San Ramon’s outrageous City employee pay packages:
http://cbs5.com/investigates/city.manager.salaries.2.1839145.html
The corresponding news segment is airing tonight on channel 5 and should be posted online soon.
Thx, John Z.
10:07 AM on August 3rd, 2010
John- you were ahead of the pack on this issue. Nice job shining a light on it.
10:33 AM on August 3rd, 2010
[...] John Zukoski points out in his blog ”Around Dublin”, unfortunately how much a city rewards its city manager is generally [...]
9:41 PM on August 3rd, 2010
The city of San Ramon has the best quality of life in comparison to all the cities John compares them to for many reasons. It’s a well-to-do city from the citizens all the way to the top. The city atracts the best and brightest because of what they pay and the end result is a city that many clamor to live in, unlike Dublin, Livermore or Pleasanton.
I love San Ramon and if the salaries these employees are making help contribute to the quality of life I enjoy every day with my family then I wholeheartedly support them. This city has the best schools and parks in the Tri-Valley area and the crime is almost non-existent in comparison to other cities.
Sounds like the media is jealous. I say continue taking my taxes as I’m thrilled where I live. THANK YOU San Ramon!
11:21 PM on August 3rd, 2010
You need to get your facts straight. First, San Ramon is not the best city in Tri-Valley. Pleasanton and Danville are better. Second, parks in San Ramon are not so good compared to those in Dublin/Pleasanton/Livermore. Third, crime rate in San Ramon is not better than other cities in Tri-Valley. So your quality-of-life is just how you feel but no more.
6:04 AM on August 4th, 2010
Hi Dave – I don’t think that anybody is questioning whether or not San Ramon is a great city. The question is whether or not San Ramon’s Mayor and City Council are being good stewards of the taxpayers’ money when the City Manager and his Directors are making 50% more than folks in comparable positions in other Tri-Valley towns/cities.
Thx, John Z.
10:43 AM on August 4th, 2010
I think he claims that San Ramon is the best city in Tri-Valley so the city manager deserves the 50% higher pay. But I think his claim is very biased and subjective.
6:55 PM on August 4th, 2010
Of course I’m being biased and subjective! As a taxpaying citizen of San Ramon I think I would be. It doesn’t change any of the biased “facts” I brought up previously.
The author tries to make it look as if the city is paying too much to their employees when there is a hiring/wage freeze when in actuality they are being prudent in preparing for the future by doing so. As the Mayor pointed out in an interview I saw on TV, the city is fiscally sound, has a reserve and is being responsible to the citizens to provide the top level services we citizens expect.
As far as the poster trying to tell me San Ramon’s crime rate is not as low as surrounding cities I can tell you without hesitation that I can walk around even the worst part of San Ramon in the dark and be safe when the same can’t be said of smaller surrounding cities other than perhaps Danville. Livermore, Dublin and Pleasanton’s crime rates have risen over the last five years and based on the respective populations San Ramon is safer than all except Danville.
I’m happy with my Mayor, city council and San Ramon employees and I’m happy they are well compensated for the hard work in providing me with the best city I’ve ever lived in. Trust me, at 52 years of age I’ve lived in a lot worse (with Pleasanton being one!)
9:16 PM on August 4th, 2010
Hi Dave – the City of San Ramon wouldn’t need a hiring freeze if it were paying their employees salaries that are in line with the rest of the Tri-Valley. Additionally, San Ramon’s reserve isn’t meant to be squandered on over-sized compensation packages for City employees. The reserve belongs to San Ramon’s taxpayers. If San Ramon’s Mayor and Councilmembers are eager to spend down the reserve, the money should be invested in the community.
Thx, John Z.
11:19 PM on August 4th, 2010
Well, at least you agree that San Ramon is worse than Danville. According to your theory, the city manager of Danville should get paid higher. But look at the numbers, he/she is paid 50% lower than his/her peer in San Ramon. There is no doubt that the city manager in San Ramon is overpaid. I bet you are one of the small minority of San Ramon residents (on this issue).
Recommend you one website to check the crime report:
http://www.crimereports.com/map/
There were 500 crimes in San Ramon for last month, whereas only 194 for Dublin. So which city is safer?
3:42 PM on August 17th, 2010
Are you for real?
Each parent is shelling out $360+++ in donation to San Ramon area school. Walked out of registration yesterday almost a $1000 lighter.
What exactly does Herb Moniz do?
I’d like to see his roles & responsibilities and key accomplishments.
Most parents would agree to cut back on his salary and divert the money into San Ramon schools for science, math, music, paraeducators etc.
1:06 PM on August 5th, 2010
And one needs to understand that Mr. Moniz $356K and Ms. Lowart $176K are husband and wife (total $532K)
1:09 PM on August 5th, 2010
Thanks for this information. I was wondering what is the connection between the two Monizes.
11:58 AM on August 18th, 2010
San Ramon’s dwindling reserve balance has no relevance. My company has almost $1B in cash reserves, but that fact has absolutely no bearing on what any of us gets paid. Compensation is bounded within ranges that match competing market rates for each position. Government employees ought to be paid in the same manner. Moniz and many others on city staff are way out of bounds.
8:59 PM on September 12th, 2010
San Ramon city manager Moniz isn’t just the highest paid city manager in the Bay Area, at $356,000, he’s now the highest paid in the State of California–with a pension to match.
Where’d the info come from that Dublin Parks Manager Diane Lowart Moniz, at $176,000/year, is his wife?
10:25 PM on October 16th, 2010
And how much did the city pay Herb on his wrongful discharge claim? He has made more money from the city than most working class people do in a lifetime and how many years has he actually worked?