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Harris County Sheriff's Office, Texas, 2011
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Harris County Sheriff's Office salary records are public records under the Texas Public Information Act.[1]
Salaries
According to The Texas Tribune, the Harris County Sheriff's Department had a total of 3,670 employees in 2011.[2]
- The median salary was $50,876.
- The highest salary was $251,555, for Michael M, Seale, the Exec. Dir., Correctional Health Services.
- The lowest salary was $20,513.
- There were two employees earning over $150,000 a year.
The following table outlines the top 10 salaries in 2011:[3]
| Name | Title | Salary |
| Michael M Seale | Exe Dir,Correctional Hlth Svcs | $251,555 |
| Adrian Garcia | Sheriff | $174,221 |
| John W Dyess | Chief Administrative Officer | $135,096 |
| Michael D. Smith | Major | $122,803 |
| Robert L. Van Pelt | Major | $122,803 |
| Michael J. O\'Brien | Major | $122,803 |
| Frederick W. Brown | Major | $122,803 |
| Michael F Wong | Major | $122,803 |
| Ronnie D. Silvio | Major | $122,803 |
| Edwin Allen Davis | Major | $122,803 |
Benefits
All Harris County employees are automatically enrolled in the base medical, DHMO dental and vision plans. The base plan has set co-payments for some services, but requires coinsurance for inpatient hospitalization, physician hospital services and outpatient surgery. The plan has a $250 per individual deductible with an individual maximum out-of-pocket coinsurance limit of $1,750 per calendar year. All full-time employees are automatically enrolled for basic life and long-term disability coverage. Employees can also opt into flexible spending accounts for health or dependent care.[4]
The table below includes combined employee and county costs for benefits packages.
| Name | Single | Single plus one | Family |
|---|---|---|---|
| PPO | $490 | $937.39 | $1,278.28 |
| DHMO | $476.37 | $910.76 | $1,236.96 |
| Base Plan + PPO | $ | $1,276.75 | $1,737.10 |
| Base Plan + DHMO | $653.55 | $1,250.12 | $1,695.78 |
Phone use
Sunshine Review filed a Texas Public Information Act request with Harris County for information on county-owned cellular and mobile devices and the costs of maintaining them. Some employees receive a monthly stipend ranging from $30-$50 to pay for cell phone use.[5]
Car use
Sunshine Review filed a Texas Public Information Act request with Harris County for information on county-owned automobiles and the costs of maintaining them, but no information was sent regarding those matters. However, according to county data, some employees receive a car allowance ranging from $118-$375 per month.[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
Footnotes
- ↑ Are city employees' salaries public information or are they protected for personal privacy?—Texas Center for Community Journalism
- ↑ Texas Tribune "Harris County Sheriff'S Dept Salaries at Harris County"
- ↑ Texas Tribune "Harris County Sheriff'S Dept Salaries at Harris County"
- ↑ Sunshine Review, Harris County Benefits (dead link)
- ↑ Harris County Salary and Allowances (dead link)
- ↑ Harris County Salary and Allowances (dead link)
- ↑ 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
