How Much Do Our Public Employees Make?

An extended database from the Bay Area News Group released this week offers an in-depth look into the salaries of our public employees.

This version of the database focused particularly on the extra compensation that employees -- including part-time elected officials -- receive. A yearly version of the database in the past has included salary information, but this year's extended version includes healthcare coverage costs, extra costs such as overtime, and employer contributions to pensions.

The online searchable database is available here. Information is available from approximately 250 agencies around the Bay Area.

In Marin, the highest fully-compensated employee was . Nordhoff's base salary was $155,555. Nordhoff, however, received over $85,000 in extra payments and a $16,926 medical, dental and vision plan. The database calculates total cost of employment including additional payments such as overtime, medical expenses, and pension contributions. Nordhoff's total cost of employment was $331,915.

(It is not uncommon for retiring or exiting employees to have higher costs because of unused sick days or unused vacation days that have to get paid out upon their departure.)

Among the most list of the expensive officials in the county is Ross Valley Sanitary District General Manager Brett Richards. Richards' base salary was $220,291, but Richards also received a medical coverage plan that cost $15,265 and extensive pension contribution. His total cost of employment was $308,622.

The sanitary district was one of the new agencies included in this year's list, along with a number of school districts.

Tamalpais Union High District Superintendent Laurie Kimbrel topped the list of employees for the high school district, with a base salary of $185,000 and a total cost of employment of $260,818.

The highest paid Drake teacher, though not the highest paid teacher in the district, was Doug Donnellan. Along with Donnellan's base salary of $97,754, he earned $28,526 in extra payments. His total cost of employment was $154,711.

The Ross Valley School District did not choose to participate and provide their data to the Bay Area News Group.

Fairfax, too, is missing from the database, though the town supplied the information to a .

In San Anselmo, the police department dominated the list of top earners. Although the highest compensated employee was Town Manager Debbie Stutsman, who had a base salary of $158,760 and a total cost of $240,811, eight of the highest compensated employees in San Anselmo were from the police department. Along with Police Chief Chuck Maynard, whose salary was $138,372 and who received $20,799 in overtime payments, the list included two police captains, four police sergeants, and a detective corporal.

The report focused on extra compensation and expensive medical coverage received by elected and part-time officials. It also called out a number of elected officials, including San Rafael Mayor Al Boro, for double-dipping from two government positions. Boro received $14,198 in health coverage as mayor and also received a $19,293 medical plan from his position as a Golden Gate Bridge District Commissioner.

Both San Anselmo and Fairfax, however, only pay their elected council members $3,600 per year with no medical coverage.