Opinion Poll On Local Government Salaries

An informal poll on myMotherLode asked “Should Local Government Employee Salaries In General Match With Average Government Salaries Statewide?” The majority voted that local salaries should not match but be lower, with 45 percent of more than 500 votes. A close second, 42 percent, agreed that local government salaries should match statewide averages. Another 12 percent were unsure and two percent felt local salaries could be higher than the state average.

As reported in the recent news story “Report Details Salaries Of Local Government Employees” here, California’s Controller released a new report comparing the salaries of government employees in cities and counties across the state.

Tuolumne County was reported with 897 employees in 2015 and the average wage was $43,346 plus an average healthcare and retirement package of $15,804. In the City of Sonora the average wage was $40,405 and the retirement and health cost per employee was much less at $8,343. Calaveras County reported 597 employees with an average salary of $48,941 plus health and retirement costs per employee of $14,653. In Angels Camp, the average salary was $31,949 and the average spent on retirement and healthcare was $10,214.

Statewide, the average wage for county employees was $63,823 and the average retirement and healthcare cost was $25,352.