Essex County Sheriff's Office, New Jersey, 2008-2011
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Essex County Sheriff's Office employee salaries are public records under the New Jersey Open Public Records Act.
Salaries
Sunshine Review filed a public records request seeking salary information on Essex County Sheriff's Office employees, specifically those in administrative positions and anyone earning more than $150,000 annually.
2008 salaries
According to data provided by the county, there were no employees earning more than $150,000 annually as of 2008.[1] Noted salaries include:
- Sheriff Armando Fontoura earned $128,000
- Deputy Chief Kevin Ryan earned $110,000
- Undersheriff Jesus Padilla earned $90,177
- Undesheriff Christell Culpepper earned $94,328
- Eight sheriff's captains earned $99,765
- Nine sheriff's lieutenants earned $86,752
- 34 sergeants earned $75,433
2009 salaries
According to data provided by the county, there were no employees earning more than $150,000 annually as of 2009.[2] Noted salaries include:
- Sheriff Armando Fontoura earned $137,917
- Undersheriff Kevin Ryan earned $113,300
- Nine Sheriff's captains earned $107,906
- Three Sheriff's lieutenants earned $85,670
- Eight Sheriff's lieutenants earned $93,831
- 31 Sheriff's sergeants earned $81,588
2010 salaries
According to data provided by the county, there were no employees earning more than $150,000 annually as of 2010.[3] Noted salaries include:
- Sheriff Armando Fontoura earned $137,917
- Undersheriff Kevin Ryan earned $113,300
- Undersheriff Jesus Padilla earned $92,882
- 29 Sheriff's sergeants earned $81,588
- 11 Sheriff's lieutenants earned $93,831
- Nine Sheriff's captains earned $107,905
2011 salaries
According to data provided by the county, there were no employees earning more than $150,000 annually as of 2011.[4] Noted salaries include:
- Sheriff Armando Fontoura earned $137,917
- Undersheriff Kevin Ryan earned $113,300
- Undersheriff Jesus Padilla earned $92,882
- Personnel Officer Donald Brown earned $110,000
- Chief Warrant Officer John Dough earned $109,272
- Seven Sheriff's captains earned $107,906
- Garey Chin, director of homeland security and preparedness, earned $100,786
In addition to drawing his salary from Essex County, John Dough is drawing $77,500 annually from the state Police and Firemen's Retirement System, according to New Jersey Watchdog. According to the report, Dough, who was hired by Essex County in 2000, was listed as Chief Warrant Officer, a position that is exempt from PFRS.[5]
In 2009, New Jersey police salaries ranked highest in the nation, with median pay of $90,672.[6]
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.[7] 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.[7] 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.[7]
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
- Essex County Sheriff's Office
- Official Essex County Website
- State Budget Solutions -- New Jersey
- N.J. police and firefighter salary cap proposed in Trenton, New Jersey Newsroom, November 23, 2010
Footnotes
- ↑ Essex County, Employee Salary Information per FOIA Request (dead link)
- ↑ Essex County, Employee Salary Information per FOIA Request (dead link)
- ↑ Essex County, Employee Salary Information per FOIA Request (dead link)
- ↑ Essex County, Employee Salary Information per FOIA Request (dead link)
- ↑ New Jersey Watchdog, "Essex County Sheriff's Chief Scams $860,000 frin Pension," March 24, 2011
- ↑ NJ.com, "N.J. police salaries rank highest in nation with median pay of $90,672," September 19, 2010
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 '’Philadelphia’s Quiet Crisis: The Rising Cost of Employee Benefits, Pew Charitable Trusts and the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, January 23, 2008
