The average salary for a city of Santa Clarita  employee is $72,833, not including health benefits, according to numbers obtained by KHTS AM-1220 on Friday.

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The figures also show that the average salary for the city’s “executive team and communications manager” is about $184,766, according to city data. 

The $72,833 average does not include the salaries of the executive staff.

The average was obtained by taking the amount of salary paid out to the city’s full-time staff, not including the executive staff, and dividing by the number of full-time employees (350), according to city Spokeswoman Gail Morgan.

The data was collected by city officials in response to questions about stories that reported on information on the state controller’s website.

Related article: Santa Clarita Reports Lowered Salary Costs On State Website

That data reported that city employees make, on average, about $31,000; however, the data did not accurately reflect the average of full-time employees, city officials said.

The figures reported on state Controller Jonthan Chiang’s website tallied 970 employees, although 607 of those employees were part-timers, and some of those only work throughout parts of the year.

As a result, the actual figure for the average of full-time employees is much higher.

The city also reports figures that are current as of Jan. 31, where as the state’s figures are more than a year old.

The numbers show that Santa Clarita’s total budget for staff salaries has decreased over the last three years, according to the state website.

The total wages reported by the city in 2012, which includes the part-time employees, is $30,181,098.

The cost of benefits for city staff has risen, but Santa Clarita City Council members have enacted a measure to try and decrease that cost in the long term.

Related article: City Council Puts Health Care Policy Change On The Record

Santa Clarita officials also reportedly paid out $7,566,115 in retirement benefits for 2012, which was up from $6,697,377 in 2009.

Here are the salaries for the executive team and communications manager:

City Manager: $237,931

Asst. City Manager: $195,686

Deputy City Manager/Dir. of Admin. Services: $190,819

Director of Public Works: $190,819

Director of Parks, Recreation and Community Services: $181,626

Director of Community Development: $164,736

Communications Manager: $131,747

Santa Clarita City Council members approved a 6-percent pay hike last June. Santa Clarita City Council members voted 4-1 to raise their salary by $103.73 per month, from $1,728.84 to $1,832.57 by July 1. Councilmember TimBen Boydston voted against the action.

The raise would come to average of three percent per year, resulting in a total six percent salary raise, but still in compliance with the state Government Code, which allows only a five percent increase per year.

Related article: Santa Clarita City Council Votes 4-1 For Six Percent Pay Raise

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Source: Santa Clarita News
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