SDCTA Study: Specialty Pay Expenditures: Municipalities in San Diego County
Sixteen cities in San Diego County offer their employees a total of 33 different "specialty pays" in addition to base pay. These add-ons include things like uniform allowance, notary, confined space and bilingual pay, and are factored into the calculation of an employee's pension payments. During a 12-year period, between Fiscal Year 2000 and FY 2011, the 16 cities, each of which belong to the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS), spent a total of $90 million on specialty pays, according to a new report by the San Diego County Taxpayers Association (SDCTA). The specialty pays offered by cities analyzed in this report include something called a "tree crew premium," which is special compensation given to city employees who care for trees. Put another way, these employees receive extra pay simply for doing the job they were hired to perform.