Battalion Chief Is Top Paid Hayward Employee in 2021

HAYWARD, CA — A Hayward battalion chief was the highest paid government employee in the city in 2021, according to numbers released by the California State Controller's Office.

Coming in at $473,931 with base pay and benefits, the position out-earned the city manager by by almost 30 percent to become the highest paid city official.

The position paid more than double the $156,782 – $190,590 average pay range for the role, according to the State Controller's Office.

The top five municipal employees were all members of the fire department and included three apparatus operators and a second battalion chief coming in behind the leader at $398,325, $354,370, $338,531 and $335,239, respectively.

Hayward City Manager Kelly McAdoo came in sixth place at $335,073.

Fire department-related roles made up nine of the city's 10 highest employee wages.

The highest paid city council members in the state belonged to the city of Los Angeles, with wages sitting above $200,000. The highest paid mayor in the state belonged to San Francisco, with a wage of $353,802, followed by Los Angeles. The ranking did not differentiate between full- and part-time employees.

View all the local statewide data using this link.

Emily Rahhal contributed to this story.