Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey.
City of Madison Fire Department, Wisconsin, 2008-2011
This article may not adhere to Ballotpedia's current article guidelines. Please email us at editor@ballotpedia.org to suggest an improvement.
City of Madison Fire Department employee salaries are public record under the Wisconsin Open Records Law. Madison, Wisconsin is the capital city of Wisconsin. The city employs more than 3,000 people.[1]
Salaries
Sunshine Review filed a public records request seeking information on city Fire Department employees salaries, focusing on ranking fire officers for the years 2008-2011. The city complied with the request for the years 2008-2010.[2]
| Position | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fire Chief | $125,511.42 | $135,976.86 | $132,542.45 |
| Assistant Fire Chief | $119,227.94 | $132,729.50 | $125,310.39 |
| Assistant Fire Chief | $127,433.27 | $133,144.07 | N/A |
| Assistant Fire Chief | $118,694.09 | $132,554.16 | $124,715.26 |
| Assistant Fire Chief | $107,188.99 | $118,511.81 | $108,704.07 |
| Assistant Fire Chief | $108,852.95 | $118,759.76 | $124,522.69 |
| Division Fire Chief | $102,809.05 | $114,418.23 | $107,416.70 |
| Division Fire Chief | $101,802.16 | $L14,342.11 | $107,008.14 |
| Division Fire Chief | $96,973.17 | $108,458.03 | $101,935.82 |
| Division Fire Chief | $98,189.81 | $113,472.68 | $106,674.78 |
| Division Fire Chief | N/A | N/A | $105,101.42 |
The Wisconsin State Journal provides a city employee salary database on its website.[3] The values for fire employees differ slightly from the figures provided by the city.
2010 salaries
- Fire Chief Debra Amesqua earned $132,790.84
- Assistant Fire Chief Paul Bloom earned $125,407.04
- Assistant Fire Chief Michael Dirienzo earned $132,112.08
- Division Fire Chief Jeffrey Duppler earned $109,074.68
- Division Fire Chief Richard Kincaid earned $105,483.76
- Assistant Fire Chief Gregg Knudston earned $124,672.70
- Division Fire Chief Ernesto Martinez earned $107,404.70
- Division Fire Chief Michael Popovich earned $107,020.46
- Division Fire Chief Arthur Price earned $101,935.82
- Fire Marshall Edwin Ruckriegel earned $106,674.78
- Division Fire Chief Ronald Schwenn earned $106,674.78
2009 salaries
- Fire Chief Debra Amesqua earned $136,163.46
- Assistant Fire Chief Paul Bloom earned $132,872.80
- Assistant Fire Chief Michael Dirienzo earned $133,144.07
- Assistant Fire Chief James Kieken earned $133,589.10
- Division Fire Chief Jeffrey Duppler earned $118,591.42
- Division Fire Chief Gregg Knudston earned $119,635.62
- Division Fire Chief Ernesto Martinez earned $114,418.23
- Division Fire Chief Michael Popovich earned $114,336.11
- Division Fire Chief Arthur Price earned $108,458.03
- Fire Marshall Edwin Ruckriegel earned $103,741.29
- Division Fire Chief Ronald Schwenn earned $113,454.68
2008 salaries
- Fire Chief Debra Amesqua earned $125,611.89
- Assistant Fire Chief Michael Dirienzo earned $127,433.27
- Assistant Fire Chief Paul Bloom earned $119,371.97
- Division Fire Chief Jeffrey Duppler earned $107,317.19
- Assistant Fire Chief James Kieken earned $118,694.09
- Division Fire Chief Gregg Knudston earned $109,038.28
- Division Fire Chief Ernesto Martinez earned $102,809.05
- Division Fire Chief Michael Popovich earned $101,802.16
Benefits
Sunshine Review filed a public records request seeking information on benefits in dollars paid by public employees for the years 2008-2011. City officials did not provide information on the types of benefits employees are offered. Types of benefits offered to city employees are listed on the city website.[1]
Car use
Sunshine Review filed a public records request seeking information on department vehicles assigned to employees and allowed to be driven home. According to data supplied by the department, there are ten command officers (one chief, three assistant chiefs, six division chiefs) and the on-call Fire Investigator that have fire department vehicles for after-hours response capability.
Phone use
Sunshine Review filed a public records request seeking information on cellular and mobile devices issued by the department. According to data supplied by the fire department, there were 39 cell phone used within the Madison Fire Department during 2009 and 2010. In 2008 there were 35. Personnel are not reimbursed for personnel cell phone use by the Madison Fire Department.[4]
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.[5] 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.[5] 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.[5]
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.
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 City of Madison official website, Human Resources Dept.
- ↑ Sunshine Review, Madison Fire Department Response to FOIA Request, May 18, 2011 (dead link)
- ↑ The Wisconsin State Journal, "City Salary Database"
- ↑ Sunshine Review, Madison Fire Department Response to FOIA Request, May 18, 2011 (dead link)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 '’Philadelphia’s Quiet Crisis: The Rising Cost of Employee Benefits, Pew Charitable Trusts and the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, January 23, 2008
