Detroit Fire Department, Michigan, 2011
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The Detroit Fire Department in Detroit, Michigan employs 1,141 personnel in its Fire Fighting Division. The Detroit Fire Department is composed of ten divisions.[1]
Simply Hired lists the average salary for a Detroit Fire Department employee at $55,000 a year as of December 5, 2011.[2]
Detroit mayor proposes cutting fire salaries
Citing Michigan state budget and finances shortfalls, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing proposed in 2011 that police and fire unions agree to a 10% salary cut, for a savings of $13 million during the fiscal year ending June 30. Bing said the police and fire department budgets comprise about 60% of the city’s overall budget.[3]
Salaries and benefits
According to Salary.com, the median salary for a firefighter in the Detroit Fire Department is $43,137:[4]
| Pay type | Median | % of total |
| Base salary | $43,137.00 | 68.50% |
| Bonuses | $0.00 | 0.00% |
| Social Security | $3,300.00 | 5.20% |
| 401K/403B | $1,639.00 | 2.60% |
| Disability | $302.00 | 0.50% |
| Healthcare | $6,507.00 | 10.30% |
| Pension | $2,761.00 | 4.40% |
| Time off | $5,309.00 | 8.40% |
| Total compensation | $62,956.00 | 100.00% |
Employees are entered into the Police and Firefighter Retirement System.[5].
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.[6] 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.[6] 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.[6]
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
- Michigan local government salary: Counties
- Public employee salary
- Detroit employee salaries
- Detroit Police Department, Michigan
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Detroit Fire Department -- About Us
- ↑ Simply Hired, "Detroit Fire Department"
- ↑ Job Cut News, "Detroit - Mayor Calls for 10% police, fire salary cut, tax hike for corporations in Detroit," November 16, 2011
- ↑ Salary.com, "Detroit Salaries"
- ↑ Police and Firefighter Retirement System (dead link)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 '’Philadelphia’s Quiet Crisis: The Rising Cost of Employee Benefits, Pew Charitable Trusts and the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, January 23, 2008
