BART chief transportation officer’s $410,000 unused leave payout highest statewide
Today, Transparent California released 2014 public employee compensation data — complete with names, pay, and benefits — for 44 of the Bay Area’s largest special districts, representing nearly 90 percent of all Bay Area special district workers.
The data reveals that San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) chief transportation officer Rodolfo Crespo cashed in $410,945 worth of unused sick and vacation leave at retirement — the largest such payout statewide and more than double his $171,000 salary.
Transparent California’s research director Robert Fellner noted that Crespo also received a $155,248 CalPERS pension, increasing his total 2014 income to more than $565,000.
“Being able to collect over twice your salary in unused leave before immediately collecting a six-figure pension is like getting a golden parachute for your platinum one.”
Top Bay Area earners
Washington Hospital Healthcare System CEO Nancy Farber’s $1,068,348 compensation package was the largest of any Bay Area special district worker.
The next five highest-compensated Bay Area special district workers were:
- Washington Hospital Healthcare System chief of medical services Albert Brooks: $532,137
- Washington Hospital Healthcare System senior associate administrator Kimberly Hartz: $516,807
- Former Central Contra Costa Sanitation District director of operations Curtis Swanson cashed in $323,000 in unused leave to boost his total compensation to: $483,722
- San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District fire chief Paige Meyer: $469,650
- Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority general manager Nuria Fernandez: $449,450
The top five Bay Area special districts with the highest average compensation packages for full-time, year-round employees were:
- San Ramon Valley Fire Protection: $269,435 — highest statewide
- Rodeo-Hercules Fire Protection: $256,684
- Moraga-Orinda Fire Protection: $218,508
- Woodside Fire Protection: $213,148
- Central Contra Costa Sanitary District: $207,486
To view this information for all Bay Area special districts surveyed, click here.
BART employees top OT list
The three highest overtime (OT) payouts all went to BART employees:
- Police officer Youn Seraypheap’s $169,060 OT payout boosted his total compensation to: $359,187
- Senior police officer David Greene’s $165,743 OT payout boosted his total compensation to: $344,305
- Senior operations foreworker Andrew Williams’s $137,617 OT payout boosted his total compensation to: $267,640
Cost of benefits soar
The top three Bay Area special districts with the most expensive benefit packages for the average full-time, year-round employee were:
- San Ramon Valley Fire Protection: $114,863
- Central Contra Costa Sanitary District: $102,343
- East Contra Costa Fire Protection: $92,480
“Largely shrouded from public view, the cost for government workers’ benefits has ballooned to unsustainable heights, crippling local agencies and burdening taxpayers,” Fellner warned.
Statewide
Average compensation for full-time, year-round special district workers in other regions was:
- Bay Area: $155,488
- Marin County: $150,758
- Los Angeles County: $117,617
- Orange County: $120,332
- Sacramento Valley: $110,301
- San Diego: $120,111
- Statewide: $122,456
To view the entire dataset in a searchable and downloadable format, visit TransparentCalifornia.com
Compensation is defined as total wages plus the employer cost of retirement and health benefits. Full-time, year-round employees are defined as those receiving a salary equal or greater than the “annual salary minimum” reported.
To schedule an interview with Transparent California, please contact Robert Fellner at 559-462-0122 or Robert@TransparentCalifornia.com.
Transparent California is California’s largest and most comprehensive database of public sector compensation and is a project of the Nevada Policy Research Institute, a nonpartisan, free-market think tank. Learn more at TransparentCalifornia.com.
