JAIMEE LYNN FLETCHER
Orange County Register

Nearly 370 public safety employees made a six-figure salary in 2009, according to data posted on the California State Controller's website.

Of those salaries, 243 came from the Police Department and 123 came from the Fire Department.

Here at the Register, we have been fielding inquiries from curious readers about the public safety salaries in the city, so we have created a database for the Fire Department and the Police Department for you to peruse.

The lists denotes all city positions that bring in $25,000 or more in 2009 but the fire and police salaries can be looked at by group. Every position was paid more than the "maximum salary" for each post listed by the city.

Here are some of the highlights:

Duane Olson, the fire chief in 2009 but who has since retired, made $363,608, which includes health benefits and pension payments.

Police Chief Kenneth Small made $222,454 in 2009, according to the data provided to the state.

But the top dogs' salaries have been reported before and it is well known both chiefs make six figure salaries, including their benefits.

In the fire department, five battalion chiefs, two fire division chiefs and 30 fire captains also brought in more than $100,000.

Three fire engineers were compensated more than $200,000 in 2009 and 26 firefighter paramedics made more than $150,000.

In the police department, 12 police lieutenants made more than $150,000 and eight sergeants made more than $200,000.

Forty-two police officers brought in more than $150,000 and the highest paid police officer in 2009 made $203,502, which includes health benefits and pension payments.

The State Controller data refers to the city's calendar year but for the fiscal year 2009-10, Huntington Beach officials adopted a $300 million budget. Of that, $181 million was slated for the general fund, which pays for many of the city's services and programs.

The fire department slated nearly $30 million of its $33.4 million budget for salaries for 2009-10. They budgeted $4 million for overtime hours, which was a 2 percent decrease from 2008-09.

The police department marked about $55.5 million of its $60.6 million budget for salaries in 2009-10. They budgeted $3.8 million in overtime hours, which was a nearly 14 percent drop from 2008-09.

Public safety employees across the county have weathered criticism for their salaries and overtime pay in recent years. Some cities, such as Santa Ana, have voted to cut overtime pay as a way to meet budget constraints while other cities, such as Fullerton, racked up millions in overtime pay in 2009.

Some readers have defended firefighters and police saying the nature of their jobs warrants the high pay and overtime hours.

"If every Register reader could spend one day at a fire station, and see the job these men and women perform, especially when handling emergencies, they would agree that firefighters in Orange County should easily be making $200,000 base salaries," wrote Michael Fleming, whose son is a firefighter with the Orange County Fire Authority, in a letter to the editor on the subject.

Like all Orange County cities, Huntington Beach has also had to make cuts across the board because of budget constraints.

A hiring freeze of 70 positions will continue at the city to save money, and both the fire and police departments saw cuts to make budget. The Fire Department lost four fire-prevention specialists and four sworn firefighter positions were converted to non-sworn employees.

Hazmat training and funding for SWAT paramedics were also reduced. The police department also expects to keep 11 officer positions vacant and eliminate beach liaison officer positions, among other cuts.


Copyright 2011 Orange County Register
All Rights Reserved
February 17, 2011