Public employee salaries focus of report
There are 50 public employees in Pennsylvania earning more than $150,000, according to a new report released by the Sunshine Review, a nonprofit that focuses on government transparency.
Public employee salaries focus of report
David Gambacorta
There are 50 public employees in Pennsylvania earning more than $150,000, according to a new report released by the Sunshine Review, a nonprofit that focuses on government transparency.
The nonprofit said it collected public salary information for Pennsylvania and seven other states -- California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Texas and Wisconsin -- by using information that was already available online or by filing Freedom of Information Act requests.
Pennsylvania had the quickest response rate to the information requests, the Sunshine Review said. The state ranked sixth with 50 public employees earning more than $150,000. California was number one, with 1,332 employees earning more than $150,000.
Through last year, seven of the nine highest-paid public officials in Pennsylvania worked in Philadelphia. Here's the lineup:
1. Arlene Ackerman, former School District superintendent: $348,140
2. Sam Gulino, Philadelphia Medical Examiner: $239,200
3. Mayor Nutter: $198,658
4. Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey: $195,000*
5. Jerome Waske, Pittsburgh paramedic crew chief: $174,881
6. District Attorney Seth Williams: $163,602
7. Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers: $149,968
8. Anna Verna, former City Council president: $148,090
9. David Sanko, Bucks County chief operating officer:$140,688
*The list doesn't reflect the $60,000 raise that Mayor Nutter gave Ramsey to stay in Philadelphia when he was being linked to the top cop's job in Chicago. His salary is now $255,000.
I like Ramsey but $255,000 is ABSURD. They should've just let him go back to Chicago. Murders are going back up anyway ... wonder if his newness/effectiveness has worn off.— Kennedy- I know there are state employees that make more than $150,000, like almost every judge. Why aren't they on the list?— Smartie Pants
- @Kennedy - it is ridiculous, but not nearly as absurd as $350k for the piece of trash that is Ackerman!— dankil13
- Someone has to say it: These salaries are paltry compared to their private sector counterparts. But they don't account for benefits, which are probably better in government than industry. Now whether these people run their "businesses" as well as their private sector counterparts is another story.— chuck.goodwin
- if you add them all, its still a pittance to Roy Halladay. Hmmmm— Speedqueen Mistress
- speedqueen...Halladay gets paid from a for profit business willingly funded by consumers. Public sector employees are paid via taxes which are taken unwillingly from citizens. massive difference in where the money comes from and the ability to influence with ones money.— kelprod2
- Not exactly true about the Phillies, Kelprod. The taxpayers of Philadelphia paid over 100 million dollars to finance Citizens Bank Park but receive nothing back except Players' wage taxes. But it's impossible to get any kind of accurate sight picture on the city's finances, so who knows if they got their investment back by now. We went from a 40 miliion dollar school budget deficit to a 700 million dollar deficit in 2 or 3 years I think. BTW, as long as Halladay keeps on being awesome, I have no problem with his salary.
— kjuggs77 - Nothing back except wage tax? When you pay $20 to park and $8 a beer, guess who gets half? That was a business decision made by the city. — tr88
- i thought ramsey got a $35k raise. Also, I thought Nutter makes 10% less than his official salary and has been doing that for a few years. There is no reason for top officials in other parts of the state to be paid what they make in Philly. More people, more problems, more responsibility.— Yakov
- But they HAD to pay that much to get Ackerman because..............— Falls Ed
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- @kelprod--That for profit business built its operating facility partially with public money and enjoys a government protected anti-trust exemption. The lines between public and private enterprises are blurred these days as the "stand on their own two feet" let the "market" decide corporate elites increasingly expect the public to assume their risk. The Repubs. want another rich man's son from this corporate elite class to become pres. and tell us all about how he worked hard and earned every break he got and we could all do the same if we could just be a executive/governor's son.— mick-of-the-moment
- it's rather unfortunate, especially considering the quality of life for many citizens in Philly. However originally being from MA, these don't seem so high.— sullivjo
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David Gambacorta spent a small eternity writing about cops, drug dealers and serial killers. Now he’s writing about power and politics – which sometimes reminds him of the old crime beat. He joined the Daily News in 2005. And yes, he knows you’re not quite sure how to pronounce his last name. E-mail tips to gambacd@phillynews.com
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Jan Ransom, a native New Yorker, joined the Daily News in 2010 after graduating from Howard University. She has since written about the difficulty of filing police complaints, tax deadbeats and life after violent home invasions. She joined the Daily News City Hall Bureau in 2011 and has plunged headfirst into reporting on administration budget battles and City Council shenanigans. E-mail tips to ransomj@phillynews.com
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Sean Collins Walsh is from Bucks County and went to Northwestern University. He joined the Daily News copy desk in 2012 and now covers the Nutter administration. Before that, he interned at papers including The New York Times, The Dallas Morning News and The Seattle Times. E-mail tips to walshSE@phillynews.com
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