BuckeyeBlog

The Division of Police is the biggest personnel cost for the City of Columbus.  It represents over 31% of total personnel costs in 2008, totaling over $166 million.

The Division of Police employed over 2,300 people last year.  More than 950 of those employees earned more than $75,000 in 2008; that is more than 40% of the people employed by the Division of Police.  97% of those earning more than $75,000 were police officers.

A number of Division of Police employees are making even more than that, 150 employees took in more than $100,000 in 2008.  More than 90% of those employees were police officers.

79% of employees in the Division of Police earned more than the median household income in Columbus.  The percentage of police officers making more than that is even higher, 93%.

Employees in the Columbus Division of Fire are seeing plenty of green as well.  Over 800 employees in the fire division took home more than $75,000 last year.  More than 120 of them earned more than $100,000.

More than 1,500 employees in the fire division took home “other” pay that was more than $1,000.  20% of the total money paid toward Columbus Division of Fire salaries went to overtime or “other” pay last year.

Extra hours means lots of extra money for the City of Columbus.  In 2008, total overtime pay for City Columbus employees was over $28 million.

Over 150 city employees made more than $25,000 in overtime alone last year.  That overtime payment alone is more than 65% of the median household earned in Columbus.  Those same employees represent 65% of the total overtime pay.

Who brought in the most?  The top ten employees who made the most overtime in 2008 all worked for the Police or Sewerage and Drain Division.  These same employees all made more than $106,000 total last year and all of the top ten overtime earners also took home “other” pay.

The City of Columbus paid these ten employees $80,407.83 more in overtime pay than in regular pay.  Their overtime pay is on average more than 51% of their total pay in 2008.

So, who are the biggest earners working for the City of Columbus?  Employees protecting the public come out on top.  Eight of the top ten salaries belong to people working in the Department of Public Safety.

Police Chief James Garfield Jackson holds the top spot earning more than $200,000 a year.  Almost a quarter of that comes from “other” earnings. What constitutes “other” earnings?  According to The City Auditor’s Office “YTD Other includes, but is not limited to:  Terminal leave pay, Shift pay, Police Parade duty, etc.  The list of “other” pay codes is too lengthy to be broken down into individual columns.”

Holding the number two spot is 2008’s City Health Commissioner, Teresa C. Long.  Long makes just under $186,000 a year, $11,000 of which comes from “other” earnings.  Fire Chief Ned Pettus, Jr. takes the number three spot earning almost $183,000 a year.  Police Sergeant Michael Robison steals the number four spot thanks to over $10,500 in overtime pay and over $103,000 in “other” pay.  Rounding out the top five is Fire Assistant Chief Warren R. Cox earning over $158,500.

Mayor Michael Coleman holds the sixth spot, earning $158,302 a year.  Mayor Coleman does not receive any overtime pay and is the only top city earner of 2008 who does not receive “other” pay.  The number seven, eight, and nine spots belong to Fire Battalion Chief Douglas J. Smith, Fire Assistant Chief Jerry L. Mason, and Fire Assistant Chief Gregory A. Paxton respectively.  Coming in at number ten is Emergency Medical Service Coordinator David P. Keseg earning over $153,000 a year.

The City of Columbus seems to have found itself in a tough spot; an $80 million budget hole on one side and citizens needs on another.  The solution, according to city leaders, is to raise the income tax.

According to the Economic Research Service the median household income in Ohio is $46,645.  In Columbus it is even less than that, $37,897.  The per capita income in the city is less still, $20,450.

City of Columbus employees are a little better off it seems.  The median income for the almost 10,000 people employed by the City is $53,059.34.  That includes overtime pay but does not include pension, retirement, or benefits.

Total overtime pay for City of Columbus employees in 2008 totals more than $28 million.  More than 150 employees made more than $25,000 in overtime last year.  Those same employees represent 65% of the total overtime paid by the City of Columbus in 2008.

In the spirit of transparency, the Buckeye Institute requested a salary database from the City for all City of Columbus employees.  The City Auditor’s Office answered our request with .pdf documents detailing salary information including total overtime and “other” pay.

To make it easier to navigate through, the Buckeye Institute has converted the file into a Microsoft Excel document that can be downloaded and searched.

http://www.buckeyeinstitute.org/docs/XPP0947_YTD_2008.xls

The Buckeye Institute will be posting a series of stories related to the information found above in the hope of informing all Ohioans.

The Stowers case in Lorain, Ohio has raised concerns and worries for gardeners throughout the country. Why? One of the reasons involves “The Food Modernization Act of 2009.”:

Immigration may not be the hottest topic right now; but, that doesn’t mean it has taken a back seat.  For three years Henry Fischer and his company Fischer Homes found themselves caught right in the middle of a highly publicized federal immigration case.  The Federal Government was accusing Fischer Homes of knowingly hiring subcontractors that employee illegal immigrants.  From the beginning Henry Fischer stood by his company and his employees who faced years behind bars.  Mr. Fischer even took it upon himself to let a renowned journalist follow the cases every move.  Award-winning journalist Jon Entine tells the story of Henry Fischer and Fischer Homes in his book, No Crime But Prejudice: Fischer Homes, the Immigration Fiasco, and the Extra-judicial Prosecution. Here is a behind the scenes look at how the investigation process unfolded for Entine.

Learn more about this compelling story and meet Henry Fischer: Click here