In Gov. Arnold Schwarzeneggers first four years, the total bill for state workers salaries jumped by 37 percent, compared with a 5 percent increase in the preceding four years under then-Gov. Gray Davis, a Chronicle analysis of state payroll records shows.
One month before Schwarzenegger took office in November 2003, just eight state employees earned more than $200,000 a year working in the core state government, which excludes universities and the Legislature. In April of this year, there were nearly a thousand, according to records.
And the number of state employees making six-figure salaries has more than doubled since 2003, to nearly 15,000. Meanwhile, the number of state workers has grown by 26,000 under Schwarzenegger after being cut by Davis, who was recalled from office in the midst of a severe budget crisis.
Some of the pay increases in recent years have been out of Schwarzenegger’s control, including previously negotiated pay raises for some employee unions and court-ordered pay hikes for medical workers in the state prison system that are estimated to have cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars.
Also fueling the spurt in payroll growth: salary increases for employees in a few politically powerful labor unions, including the states prison guards, as well as pay hikes for workers in the upper echelons of state government. Elected members of the Legislature, who will decide in the coming weeks how to resolve the states $17.2 billion deficit for the fiscal year beginning July 1, also received increases last year.
“Salaries have only gone one way - up,” said Charles Murray, chair of the California Citizens Compensation Commission, which sets pay for the state’s top elected officials. Murray, a Republican from San Marino (Los Angeles County), has called for a pay cut for legislators and other elected officers in light of the state’s huge deficit.
“If we had control over the janitors, I’d ask them to take a pay cut, too,” he said. “The reasoning is very simple: We’re in big trouble moneywise.”
Legislators, gubernatorial aides and top medical professionals have received pay hikes in the last 12 months. And as the state looks at drastic cuts in many programs, the governor is proposing about $260 million in salary increases for the state’s prison guards, whose pay jumped about 34 percent in five years under their previous contract.
At the same time, pay for many lower-ranking civil service workers has not kept up with the 15 percent increase in the state’s consumer price index in the past four years, according to an analysis by the state Legislative Analyst’s Office. Most civil service workers saw their pay rise by only 12 percent over that time.
The winners of the payroll race seem to be the unions with the strongest political ties or those who spend big bucks on political contributions and lobbying, said Christina Lokke of California Common Cause, a good-government watchdog group.
“There’s lobbying going on among all these groups of state employees - and the outcomes are pretty imbalanced,” she said. Sometimes, politics and money beat good policy, thats when the public loses out.
Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear said much of the blame rests with the Davis administration, which negotiated some contracts in which workers deferred initial pay raises for bigger gains in later years. Essentially, when the governor came into office, many of these promises had already been made, he said.
California Highway Patrol officers got a 32 percent pay increase over four years through a contract negotiated by the Davis administration that linked their pay to the five largest police departments in the state. The average officer now makes $73,000 a year. The states professional engineers received a 31 percent pay raise through a similar automatic-increase mechanism negotiated by Gov. Gray Davis’ administration.
Examples of the salary hikes revealed in the states payroll database and compensation documents include:
* More than 100 physicians and surgeons working in state prisons saw their pay increase from an average of $129,000 to $238,000 in four years, and salaries for supervising psychiatrists jumped to $236,000, after a federal court-appointed receiver, Robert Sillen, determined that pay had been so low that the system was having difficulty attracting competent medical workers.
* Legislators annual pay climbed from $99,000 in 2003 to $116,000 this year, while the state attorney generals increased from $148,000 to $184,000. The governors salary also rose, from $175,000 to $212,000, but Schwarzenegger declines to accept his salary. The state citizens compensation commission sets these pay rates, and some of its members are now looking at whether it can lower them.
* Eleven top advisers in the governors office got hefty pay increases in August, a week after the governor signed a budget that slashed programs for the homeless, mental health services and parks. Chief of staff Susan Kennedy received a $32,000 pay raise, boosting her government salary to $175,000. Four years ago, the top aide in the governors office earned a base pay of $138,000.
* At the top of the states salary list were chief officers for the California Public Employees Retirement System and the states stem cell research facility in San Francisco, known as the Institute for Regenerative Medicine, each of which is controlled by a separate board that is independent of state elected officials.
CalPERS Chief Investment Officer Russell Read made a base salary of $555,000 - plus incentive pay that pushed his total earnings to more than $900,000, according to a spokeswoman for the system. Alan Trounson, a renowned biologist appointed last year to head the stem cell agency, is paid $490,000. Four years ago, the top employee in the retirement system made a base salary of $360,000, and the stem cell agency didn’t exist.
H.D. Palmer, a spokesman in the governors Department of Finance, said state pay rates often arent competitive with those in the private sector and in city and county governments throughout the state. This year, the three top investment officers at CalPERS, including Read, announced they will leave to pursue private-sector investment jobs, many of which pay millions of dollars a year.
While the public needs to be concerned with the salaries being paid out to state employees, it also needs to know the state is in a competitive market and we need to find ways to attract and keep the best people, said Jason Dickerson of the Legislative Analysts Office, which has recommended that the state keep a tight lid on any further pay increases.

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 Washington, Jul 24 - House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) today criticized Democratic leaders for bringing yet another bill to the House floor that will not produce any new American energy to help lower gas prices. The measure, falsely dubbed the Consumer Energy Supply Act (H.R. 6578), would simply replace 70 million barrels of light, sweet crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve with heavy, sour crude oil that is more difficult to refine into gasoline in case of a national security emergency. Boehner issued the following statement:
“With just days remaining before a five-week August recess, Democratic leaders are irresponsibly putting another bill on the House floor masquerading as a real energy plan. The American people know better. They support new American-made energy to help lower gas prices, but this bill does not offer a single drop of new American oil or gas. It’s little more than a three-and-a-half day ‘solution’ to a year-round problem for American families and small businesses – not to mention another ploy by Democratic leaders to run out the clock and avoid a real vote on more American energy and lower gas prices.
“Yesterday, House Republicans introduced the American Energy Act to increase American-made energy and help lower gas prices, and a solid majority of the American people and a bipartisan majority in Congress will support it. The measure encourages more conservation and efficiency, promotes the use of alternative fuels, and increases environmentally-responsible production of American energy – all to help bring down the price at the pump for families and small businesses. It is time for Speaker Pelosi and Senators Reid and Obama to stop blocking an up-or-down vote to help lower gas prices. Congress should not leave for the August recess without giving the American Energy Act the vote it deserves.

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San Diego, Californi 05/17/2008: I worked at the Dept. of Justice for four years and left for one year to take another job. What a mistake. Fortunately, they hired me back and I won't leave again.

First, the negatives. The hiring process at the Dept. of Justice is tedious and lengthy because it is a government agency, but it's a great place to work if you have the patience to get through it. Another negative is that the pay is low for attorneys who are newly admitted to the bar. You won't make a decent salary until you've been practicing for at least three years. With that being said, if you have a few years of experience, it's not so bad and entirely worth it because you will be able to have a life outside of your job.

Here are the positives. The benefits through Calpers are hard to beat as most employers have done away with pension programs, but Calpers has one of the largest. They also have a great 401K and great health benefits. Also, the job satisfaction is tremendous because you will generally be assigned your own case load without much interference from supervisors. On the other hand, if you need resources, they are unlimited.

Job security is also pretty good. The agency has at times been threatened with layoffs due to state budget problems, but I have never seen it happen, and it is based on seniority, so once you have a few years in the office, the chances of a layoff are very low. Also, I have never seen an attorney fail to make it through probation. Once hired, the agency has an interest in ensuring that its attorneys are successful. Therefore, the general atmosphere is one of support rather than one of fault finding. Another benefit is that there are several offices and several sections. Once you are in the department, it is relatively easy to transfer between offices or sections if you don't like your section or location.

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WINCHESTER: Umpqua Community College President Blaine Nisson was not selected as president of Santa Barbara City college in California, where he was a finalist.

According to the college Web site, Andreea Serban was chosen. She is currently vice chancellor of technology and learning services at South Orange Community College District in Mission Viejo, Calif.

Nisson has been a finalist at Santa Barbara, Truckee Meadows Community College, Mount Hood Community College and Scottsdale Community College this school year.

Nisson was also a finalist for president last school year at Mesa Community College and Grossmont College.

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