HUNTINGTON BEACH : City Studies Release of Employee Pay Data

The City Council postponed a decision this week on releasing salary figures of city employees to the public.

Councilman David Sullivan asked his colleagues to release information about specific job positions--but without the name of the employee--along with the gross salary of those employees.

“I do recognize the need for a certain degree of confidentiality--balanced with the public’s right to know,” Sullivan said.

Other council members expressed concerns about employees’ privacy rights. The council directed the city attorney’s office to further examine the legality of the requested action, and asked that Sullivan make his request in writing.

Deputy City Atty. Arthur Folger said the city does release salary ranges of specific positions. But some residents charge that the information does not portray the actual salaries and benefits of employees, such as overtime and other special pay.

The Citizens Bureau of Investigation, a watchdog group, supports the city release of salary figures.

“It is very clear that all city employees are paid considerably more than workers in the private sector doing comparable work,” CBI member Jim Bridges said. “This is the reason city employees want to keep their wages secret.”

Councilman Ralph Bauer said that if the information were made public, citizens could use it to make attacks on employees.

City Atty. Gail C. Hutton said in a report to the council that people don’t give up their privacy rights simply because they are public employees. “The city has consistently taken the position that individual employees have a right of privacy that outweighs any public interest in disclosure of the exact dollars paid to the employee.”