For the first time in five years, there is a new name at the top of The Reporter's Survey of Top Public Servant Pay - the list of Solano County's highest paid public managers.

Joseph Paulsen, chief dentist at California Medical Facility, takes the honors in the 30th annual survey with a base pay of $314,484.

That, however, wasn't the largest total compensation package. That distinction goes to Vallejo City Manager Joseph Tanner, whose salary and benefits total $454,708, with a base pay of $305,843, ranking him No. 2 on the base salary list.

Paulsen and Tanner take the spots once dominated by Solano County Administrator Michael Johnson, who comes in at No. 6 this year on the base salary list with $229,082 and a total compensation package of $406,008, good enough for the second highest in the county.

Johnson welcomed the news of not being No. 1 any longer.

"I'm actually happy to hear that," he said with a smile. "That's actually pretty good news."

He said some people realize that overseeing the county's billion dollar budget is a job that pays more than others, but some take exception to his salary and mention it to him.

"Most of it is light-hearted, but there is some jealousy too," he said.

The survey tracks what it costs taxpayers to employ top-level managers at nearly four dozen public agencies throughout Solano County.

Last year's survey marked the first time there were more than 50 members of The Reporter's "$150,000 Club," which is a list of those who make at least $150,000 in base pay. This year there are 83 people who would have made the list. It was so long, The Reporter instead decided to feature "30@30," a graphic that denotes the 30 top paid public servants in Solano County upon the 30th anniversary of the survey.

Vacaville's highest paid manager is City Attorney Gerald Hobrecht, who earns a base pay of $195,071 and a total compensation package of $266,892.

Next on the base pay list for Vacaville is City Manager David Van Kirk at $179,917, with a total compensation package of $285,458.

While there were few Vacaville names near the top of the base pay list, five of the top 20 compensation packages belong to those in Vacaville.

One trend in this year's survey is the abundance of prison managers near the top of the list. Along with Paulsen, CMF chief psychiatrists Richard Lipon ($288,204), Larry Dizmang ($274,476) and Gregory Tarasoff ($261,408) were all base pay leaders.

Vallejo also had a number of managers on the "30@30" list.

In addition to City Manager Tanner, Vallejo Police Chief Robert Nichelini ($180,105) and Fire Chief Donald Parker ($174,054) led their respective positions, compared to their counterparts in other Solano County cities.

"The challenges call for the very best people," said former Mayor Anthony Intintoli. "We're getting people with a lot of experience and up on the pay scale."

Intintoli said he understands there might be some negative reaction, especially since the city is locked in an ongoing battle with fire and police unions. But, he said, the city manager's pay is in line with his expertise.

"Vallejo is a complex city with a lot of challenges," Intintoli said. "We need the very best. We didn't hire a beginner, we hired someone with vast experience."

Danny Bernardini can be reached at county@thereporter.com.