San Jose Government Workers Pay and Benefits Soar

The Mercury News reports:

San Jose spends 45 percent more on salaries and benefits for the average city worker than it did in 2000 - a growth rate roughly double the national averages for local government employees and workers in private industry.

City figures compiled at the request of the Mercury News also show that costs for retirement and health care benefits for city workers have risen three times as fast as salaries since the dot-com bust, even as many other local workers in the private sector have had to pay more for health insurance that offers fewer benefits.

Swelling personnel costs - currently almost two-thirds of San Jose's nearly $1 billion operating budget - are key to an ongoing deficit that has plagued the city for the last half decade. The city council is in the midst of trying to close a $16 million budget gap and has projected deficits for at least the next four years. Mayor Chuck Reed is expected to address the city's financial crunch in today's State of the City speech.

But until the Mercury News requested the information, city officials did not keep a rolling report showing how benefits and other costs have risen for public workers.

Your tax increase is their pay raise.45% more since 2000.They sure are special.