Month: October 2022

Part 2 – The Rich Get Richer!

Compensation to the Top 10% Highest Paid City of Davis Employees has Increased at a Far Faster Rate then Increases to the Lowest Paid City Employees and, for Upper Management and Fire Department Personnel, it is Much Higher than Comparable Compensation Levels in Woodland

by Alan Pryor

INTRODUCTION

On October 1, the author published Part 1 of a 2-part series showing how City of Davis’ employee total compensation levels rose far in excess of inflation over the past decade. It further showed the extremely adverse long-term impacts this has had on our City’s budget and the shortfalls that have occurred as a result.

This Part 2 in this series of articles looks at how these excessive compensation increases have favored top City management and Fire Department personnel while salary increases given to lower paid employees have more modestly kept pace with inflation. Further comparisons are made between total compensation levels in Davis vs Woodland showing how upper management in the City of Davis receives far greater compensation than their counterparts in Woodland while functionally performing the exact same duties.

FORWARD

Part 1 of this series of articles on employee compensation in the City of Davis looked at increases in annual compensation given to City of Davis employees from 2011 through 2021. These annual increases were then compared to annual increases that would have been given if the increases were instead limited to a standard government-calculated inflation rate index; the Bay Area Urban Wage Earners & Clerical Workers Consumer Price Index (the “Bay Area CPI”). The differences between compensation that would have otherwise been paid were then used to determine the impacts these raises had on the City budget over the ten-year period (see https://newdavisite.wordpress.com/2022/10/01/effects-of-excessive-increases-in-city-of-davis-employee-compensation-from-2011-to-2021-on-the-citys/).

Average annual increases in compensation, including both pay and benefits, were far in excess of the inflation rate during this period of time resulting in an average total compensation (Pay and Benefits) paid to full-time, year-round City employees of $176,949 in 2021. Had total compensation paid to the City employees been held to the annual rate of inflation each year during the 2012-2021 time period, the average total compensation paid to City employees would have instead been $129,262.

These excessive raises in excess of the inflation rate have resulted in cumulative increased costs to the City totaling $69,933,505 from 2012 to 2021. These monies could have otherwise been beneficially used to provide the infrastructure maintenance the City Council claims they are unable to afford.

Further highlights from that analysis in Part 1 are presented in Appendix B to this article.

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The November 8 General Municipal Election gives Davis voters in District 1 (mostly west of 113) and District 4 (mostly East Davis/Mace Ranch) the opportunity to fill two seats. As a former Mayor of Davis, and cofounder of the Davis Food Co-op and Davis Farmers Market, I’m excited to endorse newcomer Bapu Vaitla for District 1 and former Mayor, Gloria Partida, for District 4.

Bapu Vaitla has vision and energy, as well as a deep background on issues Davis cares about. I first met him in 2018 when we worked on the “Food and Economic Development (FED) in Davis Report” for the City of Davis. Sadly, the report remains largely unimplemented.

The report outlined both a big-picture and baby-step practical strategies for food-based tourism, small-scale food entrepreneurship, integration of climate change work with climate smart food planning, and food-based economic development together with food security efforts. It built on Davis’ legacy of community food systems.

Bapu will make the report a priority, along with programmatic improvements in climate control and affordable housing – with the goal for Davis to be a model in climate action and social equity. Bapu is a gifted and tireless leader.

Words about an incumbent also running in District 1 — I no longer support Dan Carson. As head of the campaign for Measure H and on behalf of the developers, he sued Davis citizen opponents of Measure H. The judge agreed there was little material content to be changed in their ballot argument as a result of the suit and fined Carson $42,200. Don’t reward that kind of unprecedented, egregious behavior in our local democracy. There are sure to be developments up for a citywide vote in the next four years – will Dan sue his next round of opponents if he is reelected?

Gloria Partida did an excellent job as Mayor (2020-22), a tough term which included the Covid pandemic. She has a long history of leadership and advocacy in the Davis community related to inclusion and civil rights. With her son, she has a food cart selling churros and knows first hand the hardships many small food businesses face in Davis. She’s supportive of many of the FED recommendations, as part of her interest in economic development, and will prioritize affordable housing, climate change and solutions for the unhoused.

I call on my fellow voters in District 1 and 4 to elect Bapu Vaitla and Gloria Partida.  

Sincerely,

Ann M. Evans, Former Mayor, City of Davis

Part 1 – Our City Councilmembers are Drinking Like Sailors Again…And They’re Spending your Money!

by Alan Pryor

FORWARD – In a recent article in the Davis Enterprise (9/27/22), Councilmember Dan Carson said while promoting his reelection bid, “The city’s annual deficit — an estimated $8 million a year over the next 20 years — is down to $4 million to $5 million a year…We made a significant dent… and our financial condition has significantly improved.”

The article went on to state that Carson credits “a lot of good policies… including restraint in labor negotiations…It’s been sound fiscal management.” But is this true?

Well, the simple fact is that the City of Davis is still in a budget crisis and one has to do nothing more than look at the deplorable state of our streets and bike paths as examples. According to independent verification, City of Davis streets are in worse condition than any of the other cities or towns in Yolo County including Woodland, West Sacramento, and Winters. If left further unmanaged by our City Council, the budget crisis and our streets and infrastructure will undoubtedly deteriorate further over the coming years.

Of course, the City Council absolve themselves of any responsibility for this budget morass claiming, “It’s the economy!..It’s the pandemic!…It’s Acts of God!”, without nary a thought given to the notion that maybe it is just their plain fiscal mismanagement that has brought the City to its financial knees.

Indeed, what is not disclosed nor explained to the public is that over the past decade, our City Councils have granted City of Davis employee compensation increases to our highest paid employees that are far in excess of increases required to maintain pace with inflation. This has resulted in increased costs to the City totaling tens of millions of dollars that could have otherwise been beneficially used to provide the infrastructure maintenance the City Council claims they are unable to afford.

This is Part 1 of a 2-part series investigating how overall City of Davis’ employee compensation levels risen over the past decade far in excess of inflation and the extremely adverse impacts this has had on our City’s budget as a result.

Part 2 will be published soon and looks at how these excessive compensation increases have favored top City management and public safety personnel while salary increases given to lower paid employees have barely kept pace with inflation. Further comparisons are made between total compensation rates in Davis vs Woodland showing how upper management in the City of Davis receives far greater compensation than their counterparts in Woodland.

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