Los Angeles utility workers rake in over 700,000 dollars yearly on public payroll

100 plus employees clear 500,000 dollars each with the 11 billion dollar department still run by the same political insiders…

Factcheck:

**Confirmed.** Public data from Transparent California (2023) shows over 100 LADWP employees received total compensation >$500k (including overtime/benefits), with ~27 over $600k and a few over $700k. Highest were load dispatchers and supervisors topping ~$800k+. LADWP’s combined water/power budget is ~$11B. These are verifiable payroll records, though high figures often reflect OT in 24/7 operations rather than base salary alone.

Santa Monica Observer on the 100 plus high earners https://www.smobserved.com/story/2026/04/20/news/100-employees-of-the-la-dwp-earn-more-than-500000-a-year-about-six-times-what-your-family-makes-annually/9795.html

LA Times on Spencer Pratt and LADWP pay scrutiny https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-05-22/spencer-pratt-leads-field-in-mayoral-campaign-contributions

OpenTheBooks report on top LADWP earners
https://openthebooks.substack.com/p/los-angeles-fires-water-and-power