Cities’ Top 25 Lists Show Employees Generously Paid : Salaries: Numerous compensation packages exceed $100,000. Public safety workers rank among highest earners.

Dozens of city employees across Orange County earned more than $100,000 in the past year, with some police employees working so much overtime that they made more than department heads, city records show.

In both Santa Ana and Costa Mesa, the 25 highest-paid employees all topped the $100,000 mark in salary and benefits.

The figures come from pay records of two dozen cities that, as of Friday, had responded to The Times’ request under the California Public Record Act for information on their 25 highest-paid employees. Six other cities have yet to respond.

The flurry of interest in municipal pay began last month after Huntington Beach officials were forced by court order to reveal the salaries of their highest-paid employees, who earned $126,000 to $174,000 in salaries and benefits.

The latest records show that pay and benefits vary widely throughout Orange County. They also show that public safety employees frequently rank among the best-paid employees:

* In Fountain Valley, 22 of the 25 highest-paid people are police or fire employees, four of whom made more than $20,000 apiece in overtime.

* In La Habra, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Garden Grove, Buena Park and Seal Beach, public safety workers accounted for at least 17 of the 25 most highly compensated.

* In several cities, police employees earned tens of thousands of dollars in overtime on special assignment to a regional narcotics task force.

* In Seal Beach, the city manager ranked fourth on the pay scale, trailing the police chief, a police captain and a lieutenant.

The cost of police overtime has prompted some concern among city officials. Los Alamitos Councilman Ronald Bates, for instance, said his city should examine whether it would save money by hiring more employees. But a city study two years ago found the city actually saves money by paying overtime rather than hiring new officers.

But Seal Beach Councilman William J. Doane said he is not troubled by the overtime.

“I have nothing but praise for what our officers do,” Doane said. “I wish we had enough money to afford more officers so overtime was not as needed. But the fact is they are out there doing a good job and when we have an emergency situation or event, they go on overtime.”

To date, the top 25 lists have shown all 25 employees earning total compensation of more than $100,000 in five cities: Huntington Beach, Irvine, Newport Beach, Santa Ana and Costa Mesa. Santa Ana City Manager David N. Ream’s total compensation was $197,207, making him the second-highest-paid city manager in records received to date. The highest paid so far was Irvine’s Paul O. Brady Jr., who earned $223,000 including a onetime vacation buyout of $39,000.

The total compensation figures released by cities include base salary, insurance and pension benefits and, in some cases, overtime, vacation cash-outs and auto allowances.

Some wonder whether city salaries in general are simply too generous, especially in view of Orange County’s current financial straits. They blame the rising cost of living in the 1980s for driving up municipal pay levels.

“We’re in the 90s now. We can’t continue to pay these salaries and hope to survive,” said Santa Ana City Councilman Ted R. Moreno, who advocates reducing pay levels as employees retire.

In Costa Mesa, city officials say they grew alarmed several years ago by the amount of overtime reported by officers, and have been working since then to reduce it. They were less concerned with the money than with how the overtime was affecting the health and stress levels of officers, Costa Mesa officials said.

“Management was concerned about burnout,” said Susan Temple, Costa Mesa’s finance director. “Someone doing 60 hours of police work all year long is a concern to us.” Another concern, she said, was that the overtime might increase on-the-job injuries, forcing the city to pay workers’ compensation claims.

The city imposed new rules designed to spread overtime throughout the Police Department by limiting the amount of overtime an officer can work. Once the officer has reached the limit, any additional overtime must be approved by a supervisor.

Records released by the cities in recent days also showed:

* Buena Park: City Manager Kevin O’Rourke was the top-paid employee, earning $120,067.

* Costa Mesa: The top 25 list ranged from $149,521 earned by City Manager Allan L. Roeder to $111,954 received by the city’s communications director. Behind Roeder was Police Chief David L. Snowden, who earned $148,994.

* Fountain Valley: The top-paid employee was City Manager Ray Kromer, who received $126,314, followed by Police Capt. Rodney Gillman, who earned $121,447.

* Fullerton: City Manager James L. Armstrong had the top compensation package, which totaled $159,383. A total of 15 police and fire employees made the top 25 list, with three earning more than $35,000 each in overtime.

* Garden Grove: Fire Division Chief Joseph Chandler was the top-paid worker, earning $147,559. Police Chief Stanley L. Knee was next at $138,744, followed by City Manager George Tindall at $134,918.

* Laguna Hills: City Manager Bruce Channing was the top-paid employee in his city, earning $157,943 last year.

* La Habra: The top-paid employee was City Manager Lee Risner, who earned $105,231. Risner recently retired. Behind him was Police Chief Steven Staveley, who received $95,100.

* La Palma: Police Chief David Barr was the top-paid employee, with a total compensation package of $116,297. City Manager Pamela Gibson, who left the city earlier this year, earned $113,496, including a onetime cash-out of vacation and sick time totaling $15,659.

* Los Alamitos: Police Chief Michael J. Skogh was the top-paid employee, earning $108,184.

* Mission Viejo: The highest-paid city worker this past year was Fred Sorsabal, who retired as city manager in March. Sorsabal earned $139,425, including a onetime cash-out of sick days and vacation time that totaled $27,979.

* San Juan Capistrano: City Manager George Scarborough earned the top salary, $128,811.

* Santa Ana: City Manager David N. Ream was the top-paid employee last year in Orange County’s largest city, with salary and benefits totaling $194,207. The lowest paid of the top 25 was Police Capt. Bruce R. Carlson, at $129,720.

* Seal Beach: Police Chief Bill Stearns earned the top pay of $129,544.

* Stanton: The top-paid employee was City Manager Greg Hulsizer, who has since left the city. Hulsizer earned $70,766.

* Tustin: City Manager William A. Huston emerged as the highest-paid employee, with salary and benefits totaling $164,830. Lowest on the list was Robert Ruhl, field service manager, at $92,578.

* Villa Park: The city employs just seven workers, with City Manager Fred Maley receiving the highest pay, $77,268.

* Yorba Linda: Salaries earned by the 25 top-paid employees ranged from $159,882 for City Manager Arthur Simonian to $58,048 for an assistant planner.

Two cities, Dana Point and Lake Forest, released only partial lists, maintaining that the law requires public disclosure of salary information only for those employees who directly affect public policy.

Dana Point’s list showed City Manager Stephen B. Julian was the top-paid employee, with salary and benefits totaling $141,045.

Lake Forest released pay figures for only seven of its 24 full-time employees, showing the top-paid employee was former City Manager Gaylord Knapp, at $122,501.75.

Huntington Beach released its top 25 list Aug. 23, showing that all 25 employees were paid more than $126,000 each last year. The city was forced to make the pay information public because of a court ruling in a legal battle waged by the Huntington Beach / Fountain Valley Independent, a local weekly newspaper.