Extra compensation to UC employees jumps $59 million

Tanya Schevitz, Chronicle Staff Writer
San Francisco Chronicle - B3
Oct 3, 2007

Extra compensation paid to University of California employees has risen to $975 million, a $59 million increase during the fiscal year that ended on June 30, according to figures released Tuesday.

The category covers payments above an employee's base pay, such as bonuses, overtime, cash for unused vacation, housing and vehicle subsidies, clinical earnings for doctors and weekend shift differentials, among others.

University spokesman Paul Schwartz said the 6.4 percent rise in the "above base pay" category was due to growth in the UC workforce and market demands requiring the university to be competitive in hiring and retention of employees.

UC could not say how many of its 175,000 fulltime employees shared in the extra pay during the 12 months ending on June 30. An analysis of the data by The Chronicle shows that about 103,000 employees got more than their base pay.

The extra compensation was part of an overall payroll of $8.6 billion, up 7.5 percent from the previous fiscal year's $8 billion total. In comparison, the Consumer Price Index for California's metro areas of Los Angeles and the Bay Area was just above 3 percent.

The extra compensation for the university's 169 senior managers - including the UC president, vice presidents and campus chancellors - fell from $7.17 million to $6 million, Schwartz said. That drop was mostly due to a retirements and an overall one-year decline in senior managers from 185 to 169.

The higher overall payroll, meanwhile, was due to a 2.7 percent growth in the number of UC employees - about 3,300 additional workers. The larger workforce stemmed from increases in services, Schwartz said, noting that the university saw a 2.5 percent increase in student enrollment, as well as growth in patient services at its teaching hospitals.

In the wake of last year's compensation scandal over pay that was improperly and secretly awarded to high-paid employees, UC began publicly releasing its payroll numbers a year ago.

Officials instituted a series of compensation reforms after The Chronicle revealed that millions of dollars in extra compensation and questionable perks had been handed out to top officials but never publicly disclosed. The Chronicle's findings were verified and expanded by three audits that showed how UC administrators sometimes flouted and circumvented some university policies while occasionally violating others in awarding pay.

The university's latest report on the payroll said the extra compensation paid last fiscal year was not inappropriate and was earned by employees.

The extra compensation came from a variety of sources, according to the report. Almost 50 percent came from UC's various teaching hospitals that generate professional fees and clinical revenue. About 9 percent came from state tax funds and 7 percent came from student fees.

"Above base salary pay, (extra compensation) should be viewed as an appropriate part of total compensation necessary to recruit, retain and reward valuable employees in the competitive marketplace in which UC operates," the report said.

The report also noted that the 10 highest-earning employees at the university were athletic coaches or members of the health sciences faculty, such as physicians. UC Berkeley football coach Jeff Tedford received the most extra compensation, with a $196,249 base salary and $2.6 million in extra pay - including a "talent fee" of about $1.3 million. Dr. Philip LeBoit, a UCSF professor and co-director of the UCSF Dermatopathology Service had the second highest amount of extra compensation, with a $102,503 base salary and $1.8 million in extra compensation, primarily from clinical revenues.

The $6 million in extra pay that was distributed to senior managers included $1.4 million in performance pay and bonuses, $1.3 million in compensation to health sciences employees, and $353,824 in automobile allowances. The report noted that the money given to senior managers represented less than 1 percent of the total extra compensation paid to UC employees.

State Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, said UC officials still have their priorities wrong.

"Student fees are going to continue to go up and for the low-end workers, their salaries are not going to grow as fast as the high-end executives," Yee said.