Fact vs. Fiction
Why Yes On Q
Is Wrong
The Yes campaign is misleading Davis to push through a permanent tax increase.
Fact vs. Fiction
In the Past Decade, City of Davis Revenues and Expenses Soared Far in Excess of the Inflation Rate or Population Growth.
Mark Twain famously popularized the saying, “There are 3 kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.”
We can now add a 4th type of lie – Lies told by the Davis City Council.
In their ballot statement in support of Measure Q, the Davis City Council unequivocally stated, “The City of Davis has worked diligently to manage existing resources efficiently, trimming expenses. Now we need to catch up to inflation, increasing costs, and our growing population.
But is this true? Well, the facts speak otherwise. The following is a comparison of the annual increase in the inflation rate with annual changes in City revenues and annual changes in employee total compensation in the past decade.
Fact Check #1
As shown above, the average annual rate of increase in City Revenues from 2014 through 2021 is 4.5%. The average annual rate of increase in City Employee Total Compensation is 5.7%. Yet the average rate of Inflation for that same period is only 3.8%. Only in a distorted reality is an average revenue increase of 4.5% not keeping pace with a local average inflation that is 3.8%. The City’s profligate spending increases simply cannot be explained away by the inflation rate.
Fact Check #2
The population of Davis increased from 66,741 in 2014 to only 67,171 in 2021 – or a compound average annual growth rate of only 0.1%. Population growth is not a valid excuse for out-of-control spending despite claims to the contrary by the City Council.
It is obvious from the above data that the major force driving the increase in expenditures by the City is the soaring cost of City employee compensation – mostly on the high end of senior City management. It has risen far in excess of the inflation rate or other City expenditures. So inflation or population growth are certainly not the cause of expenditure increases as our Council claims.
Uncontrolled Employee Compensation Increases
are Far in Excess of Inflation
Uncontrolled Employee Compensation Increases are Far in Excess of Inflation
The City claims that all of its economic woes are not of their doing but instead are due to inflation and rising prices, population growth, a bad economy, and unanticipated expenses. But in reality the main culprit is the uncontrolled raises given to the highest paid City employees, including senior management and senior fire department personnel.
Excessive Davis City Manager Pay Increase
Just earlier this year, the Davis City Manager was given a 2% pay raise retroactive to January 1 of this year, a 3.5% retroactive bonus for 2023, and another 3.5% bonus for the uncompleted 2024 year. That’s a 9% raise over 2 years! But our City Manager already earned between 3% and 30% more than every single General Manager of the 6 cities nearest to Davis with similar populations within 20% of that of Davis. This brings the Davis City Manager’s total compensation to over $500,000 per year including pension debt.
Excessive Pay Increases to the Highest Paid Fire Department Personnel
Additionally, the ten highest paid personnel in the firefighters union were awarded annual pay raises of 6.5% retroactive about 1 year to July 1 ,2023 because it was falsely claimed they were underpaid compared to neighboring cities.
However, these same senior fire department managers now cost the City, on average, almost $400,000 in total annual compensation (including pension debt), which is almost $100,000 per year greater than the cost of average total compensation of the ten highest paid firefighters of similar rank in Woodland. This is about $1 million per year in excessive compensation costs to the City that could instead be used to put more police officers on patrol or make much-needed street repairs.
Salary increases to senior management within the City of Davis have been well beyond both the inflation rate and comparable pay in neighboring cities of similar size. It now costs the City about $11 million/year for excessive raises given to Davis City employees over the past decade. If the City Council had not approved these series of excessive pay raises above the rate of inflation, this sales tax increase would not even be necessary.
