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Houston Fire Department, Texas, 2008-2011
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The Houston Fire Department had a total of 3,944 employees at a combined annual salary cost of $229,057,470 in 2011.[1] Houston Fire Department salaries are public records under the Texas Public Information Act.[2]
Salary
As of 2011:
- The average salary was $58,077.
- The median was $60,106.
- The highest salary was $238,254, for David E. Persse, the EMS Physician Director.
- The lowest salary was $23,362.
- There were four employees earning over $150,000 a year.
The following table outlines the top 10 salaries in 2011:[3]
| Name | Title | Salary |
| David E Persse | EMS Physician Director, MD (Exe Lev) | $238,254 |
| Chris Souders | Associate Ems Physician Director | $198,500 |
| Terry Almon Garrison | Fire Chief | $175,000 |
| Lars Thestrup | Assistant Ems Physician Director | $169,874 |
| Neil Depascal | DEPUTY DIRECTOR (EXE LEV) | $142,200 |
| John R Flanagan | Executive Assistant Fire Chief | $129,901 |
| Paul Edward Sirbaugh | Assistant Ems Physician Director | $128,523 |
| Richard Wayne Galvan | Executive Assistant Fire Chief | $123,684 |
| Carl E Matejka | Executive Assistant Fire Chief | $123,684 |
| Patrick W Plummer | ASSISTANT DIRECTOR (EXE LEV) | $120,983 |
Benefits
According to the City of Houston website, the following benefits are offered to employees:[4]
- Health and dental
- Life insurance
- Healthcare flexible spending account
- Long-term disability
- Vacation, sick days, holidays and wellness leave.
- Defined benefit plan or 457 plan
In 2010, the city paid out $8.7 million in unused benefits to 127 employees who left the Houston Fire Department, which was a 6% increase over 2009. One Fire Department Deputy Chief walked away with $211,808 for unused sick, vacation, and holiday benefits.[5]
Phone use
From January 1, 2008 to January 31, 2011, Houston gave out 13,880 cell phones to employees. The Houston Fire Department had 1,907 devices given out to employees.[6]
Car use
Sunshine Review filed a Texas Public Information Act request with Houston for information on city-owned automobiles and maintenance costs. The information returned on May 3, 2011 is below. The response was signed by Janice Evans, Director of Communications in the Office of the Mayor. The Fire Department had 238 take-home vehicles.[7]
Sunshine Review was given Quarterly Mileage Reports from the Houston Fire Department for 2008 to 2011, which outline:
- Vehicle number
- Employee job classification
- Vehicle make, model and year
- Start of quarter mileage
- End of quarter mileage
Those reports can be found in the following links:
- 2011 Quarterly Mileage Report
- 2010 Quarterly Mileage Report
- 2009 Quarterly Mileage Report
- 2008 Quarterly Mileage Report
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.[8] 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.[8] 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.[8]
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
- ↑ Texas Tribune "Fire Salaries at Houston"
- ↑ Are city employees' salaries public information or are they protected for personal privacy?—Texas Center for Community Journalism
- ↑ Texas Tribune "Fire Salaries at Houston"
- ↑ Houston Employee Benefits
- ↑ Houston Chronicle "Millions paid to ex-HFD firefighters for unused vacations, more"
- ↑ Houston City Phones
- ↑ Houston Cars
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 '’Philadelphia’s Quiet Crisis: The Rising Cost of Employee Benefits, Pew Charitable Trusts and the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, January 23, 2008
