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Aurora employee salaries, 2008-2011
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Aurora employee salaries are public record under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act.
Salaries
According to a payroll database compiled by the Illinois-based watchdog group Better Government Association, there were two Aurora employees earning more than $150,000 annually as of 2011.[1] The BGA database does not allow searches to be broken down by department, only last name or salary value.
- City Treasurer Brian Caputo earned $159,411.20
- Chief of Police Gregory Thomas earned $154,731.2
Other notable salaries, as of 2011:[2]
- Mayor Tom Weisner earned $111,841.6
- Assistant Chief of Staff Charles Nelson earned $98,966.40
- Chief Management Officer Carie Ergo earned $100,630.40
- City Clerk Cheryl Vonhoff earned $115,980.80
- Counsel Alayne Scatterday earned $123,864
- Chief Community Services Officer Daniel Barreiro earned $122,408
- Public Works Director Keneth Schroth earned $145,974.41
- Fire Marshal Matthew Perez earned $134,524.44
- Superintendent of Parks Daniel Anderson earned $98,966.40
- Planning Director Stephanie Phifer earned $109,886.4
- Alderman Abby Schuler earned $16,749.98
- Alderman Juany Garza earned $16,749.98
- Alderman Stephanie Kifowit earned $16,749.98
- Alderman Richard Lawrence earned $16,749.98
- Alderman John "Whitey" Peters earned $16,749.98
- Alderman Michael Saville earned $16,749.98
- Alderman Scheketa Hart-Burns earned $16,749.98
- Alderman Allan Lewandowski earned $16,749.98
- Alderman Richard Mervine earned $16,749.98
- Alderman Lynda Elmore earned $16,749.98
- Alderman Robert O'Connor earned $16,749.98
- Alderman Richard Irvin earned $16,749.98
Benefits
City of Aurora officials did not respond to an public records request for data on city employee benefits in dollar amounts. Sunshine Review requested the information for the years 2008-2011.
According to the city website, Aurora offers the following benefits for full-time and eligible part-time employees:[3]
- Paid holiday, vacation and sick leave
- Medical, dental and life insurance programs
- Section 125/Flexible Spending Plan
- Deferred compensation programs
- Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (general employment)
- Employee assistance program
- Credit union
- Tuition assistance program
- Uniform allowance (as determined by policy)
- Translation pay
Salary records project
In 2011, Sunshine Review chose 152 local governments as the focus of research on public employee salaries. The editors of Sunshine Review selected eight states with relevant political contexts (listed alphabetically):
1. California
2. Florida
3. Illinois
4. Michigan
5. New Jersey
6. Pennsylvania
7. Texas
8. Wisconsin
Within these states, the editors of Sunshine Review focused on the most populous cities, counties and school districts, as well as the emergency services entities within these governments. The purpose of this selection method was to develop articles on governments affecting the most citizens.
The salary information garnered from these states were a combination of existing online resources and state Freedom of Information Act requests sent out to the governments.
A study published by the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia said the city of Philadelphia faced challenges owing to the cost of public employee pensions.[4] The report claimed the amount that Philadelphia paid to pension recipients limited the city’s ability to use its budget effectively.
The report said there were more individuals receiving pension benefits—33,907 claimants in 2006—than workers in the city—28,701.[4] The authors recommended three steps towards addressing the problem of high costs in pensions: improved data collection, expanded transparency initiatives, and reductions to the city's overall budget.[4]
Salary schedules can be published as ranges, not as specific compensation figures, and may leave out compensation received through health and retirement benefits, as well as benefits such as commuter allowances and cell phone reimbursements. This project aimed to close the gap and provide a more accurate picture of public employee salaries for the sake of public education and transparency.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Better Government Association, Payroll Database, July 21, 2011 (dead link)
- ↑ Better Government Association, Payroll Database, July 21, 2011 (dead link)
- ↑ City of Aurora, Human Resources Department
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 '’Philadelphia’s Quiet Crisis: The Rising Cost of Employee Benefits, Pew Charitable Trusts and the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, January 23, 2008
