By Carolyn Schuk
Big jumps in payments into the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) system is one of the factors driving Santa Clara's "systemic" budget deficit over the next five years.
Aug. 26, 2010: Some Santa Clara Pay Scales Surpass Those in New York City
By Carolyn Schuk
As the largest single metropolitan area in the U.S., New York City garners more attention than any other. And as municipal pay scales remain a leading topic on the news, many cities are comparing their payrolls to New York's.
Santa Clara is no exception.
Aug. 18, 2010: Comparing City Pay Scales with Private Business Shows City Employees Earn More
By Carolyn Schuk
A comparison of 30 City of Santa Clara salaries to those of private businesses appears to validate a Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury finding that municipal salaries are "artificially high and out of sync with market trends."
Aug. 11, 2010: City Salaries – Hefty Increases Dominate, With Notable Exceptions of Library, Finance, Police, Streets
By Carolyn Schuk
The growth of public sector compensation has been a hot news topic ever since Bell California's exorbitant city salaries made the headlines. Santa Clara offers its own, albeit more modest, laboratory of how the dynamics of civil service pay can take on independent life of its own, driven by politics and detached from the economic and revenue realities.
Aug. 4, 2010: City Compensation Agreements Can't Be Changed at Will
By Carolyn Schuk
Most would agree that Santa Clara residents receive high quality city services. One reason is that most city services are delivered by city employees – giving the City full control over delivery. Reflecting this, employee compensation accounts for nearly 80 percent of the City's operating budget – a percentage that has been consistent throughout the years.
With the city's budget in a tailspin, some are questioning the pay scales and benefit packages – which unquestionably drive Santa Clara's budget and, with it, a growing deficit.
July 28, 2010: Santa Clara Citizens Advisory Committee Questions City Salary and Benefit Increases
By Carolyn Schuk
As cities and states across the nation face acute budget crises, attention invariably turns to the largest item in public budgets: public employee compensation costs.
For example, Business Insider (www.businessinsider.com) has been making journalistic hay recently with titles such as "The 899 NY State Employees Who Earn More Than [Gov.] David Paterson," "Maywood, CA Lays Off All City Employees, Dismantles Police Department," and "If You Thought New York Was Bad, Check Out The Ridiculous Public Sector Pensions In Illinois."
Santa Clara is no exception to the national conversation.
July 14, 2010: County Report Finds Municipal Employee Compensation Out of Line with Economy, Cost of Living, Municipal Revenues
By Carolyn Schuk
Once upon a time, public sector workers earned far less than employees in private businesses. In return, civil service employees received generous benefits. A 2010 study by the Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury, "Cities Must Rein In Unsustainable Employee Costs," finds that today's public sector wages and benefits have grown "dramatically" over the last decade, and total municipal compensation "is out of sync with private industry and…unsustainable."
June 9, 2010: City's Pension Fund Costs to Double Between 2010 and 2015
By Carolyn Schuk
One of the reasons for Santa Clara's "systemic" budget deficit over the next five years is a big jump in payments into the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) system.
June 30, 2010: Salaries and Benefits Drive Growing City Budget
By Carolyn Schuk
By now anyone who hasn't been in a coma knows that Santa Clara's budget is headed for record deficits for the foreseeable future. In fact this percentage hasn't changed significantly in the last five years – and it isn't projected to change much over the next five.
May 26, 2010: Santa Clara's 2010-2011 Capital Improvement Budget Fares Better Than Operations Budget
By Carolyn Schuk
Santa Clara's capital improvement budget (CIP) for the coming fiscal year is better news than the city's operating budget. That's because capital investments – a community's physical infrastructure, such as sewers, buildings, and parks – are funded in different ways than its day-to-day operating expenses – for example, heating and staffing those buildings.
April 28, 2010: Santa Clara Revenues Down, Deficit Doubles
By Carolyn Schuk
The City of Santa Clara is in a world of financial hurt. The City Manager's midyear budget review shows this year's total tax revenues – roughly 60 percent of the city's operating budget – down nearly 7 percent from last year.
May 4, 2010: Proposed Budget Principles Aim to Bring Santa Clara Accounts into Balance
By Carolyn Schuk
Taking up from the April 20 City Council meeting discussion about Santa Clara's 2010-2011 budget, at last week's Council meeting City Manager Jennifer Sparacino introduced principles to guide the budgeting effort.
May 19, 2010: More Red Ink Forecast for Santa Clara City Budget - May 19, 2010
By Carolyn Schuk
Santa Clara's operating budget deficit for 2009-2010 will reach $15 million, the City Manager reported to the City Council on May 11. This is more than twice the deficit that was forecast when the budget was finalized in July 2009.
Santa Clara's operating budget deficit for 2009-2010 will reach $15 million, the City Manager reported to the City Council on May 11. This is more than twice the deficit that was forecast when the budget was finalized in July 2009.
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