Jacksonville employee salaries, 2008-2011
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Jacksonville employee salaries are public records under the Florida Sunshine Law.
Gov. Rick Scott's office launched a website on March 17, 2011 that provides access to frequently requested public records and information, including a state employee salary database and a list of state pension benefits that exceed $100,000.[1]
The website, FloridaHasARightToKnow.com, also includes contract records, information on rule-making status and procedures and links to other open government resources.[2]
Salaries
2011
In 2011, the City of Jacksonville had 15 employees who earned over $150,000 a year.[3]
- There were 2,962 employees listed in the database.
- The highest paid employee was Medical Examiner Margarita Arruza, with a salary of $208,119.00.
- The lowest paid employee was grounds maintenance worker Ruston Rogers, with a salary of $16,924.80.
- The Mayor of Jacksonville, John Peyton, earned $173,940.96 a year.
| Name | Employer | Annual salary |
| Arruza, Margarita | Jacksonville, City of | $208,119.00 |
| Mullaney, Richard | Jacksonville, City of | $205,009.80 |
| Laquidara, Cindy | Jacksonville, City of | $204,510.00 |
| Rao, Valerie | Jacksonville, City of | $184,813.08 |
| Giles, Jesse | Jacksonville, City of | $183,220.81 |
| Johnson, Robert | Jacksonville, City of | $181,360.53 |
| Rohan, Steven | Jacksonville, City of | $181,050.00 |
| Sherman, Kirk | Jacksonville, City of | $180,000.00 |
| Mosley, Alan | Jacksonville, City of | $178,508.16 |
| Peyton, John | Jacksonville, City of | $173,940.96 |
| Hollingsworth, Michael | Jacksonville, City of | $162,174.96 |
| Miller, George | Jacksonville, City of | $159,908.44 |
| Maltz, Howard | Jacksonville, City of | $159,120.00 |
| Chastain, Karen | Jacksonville, City of | $158,610.00 |
| Barton, Ronald | Jacksonville, City of | $155,173.80 |
| Nicolaescu, Aurelian | Jacksonville, City of | $154,626.44 |
2010
In early 2012, Jacksonville's The Florida Times-Union requested public salary data from more than 90 North Florida government agencies for 2010 to 2011.[4] In 2010, the City of Jacksonville had 10 employees who earned over $100,000 a year:[5]
| Name | Year | Employer | Base pay | Total pay |
| Rao, Valerie | 2010 | Jacksonville, City of | $190,172.64 | $190,172.64 |
| Giles, Jesse | 2010 | Jacksonville, City of | $179,556.39 | $179,556.39 |
| Rohan, Steven | 2010 | Jacksonville, City of | $177,429.00 | $177,429.00 |
| Sherman, Kirk | 2010 | Jacksonville, City of | $176,400.00 | $176,400.00 |
| Chastain, Karen | 2010 | Jacksonville, City of | $165,237.76 | $165,237.76 |
| Maltz, Howard | 2010 | Jacksonville, City of | $160,837.64 | $160,837.64 |
| Belton, Clarence | 2010 | Jacksonville, City of | $156,999.96 | $156,999.96 |
| Miller, George | 2010 | Jacksonville, City of | $156,710.28 | $156,710.28 |
| Barton, Ronald | 2010 | Jacksonville, City of | $152,070.32 | $152,070.32 |
| Nicolaescu, Aurelian | 2010 | Jacksonville, City of | $151,533.91 | $151,533.91 |
2009
Between August 2008 and August 2009, about 7 percent (586 employees) of city employees received a raise of at least 10 percent. Most of those receiving the raises were police officers or firefighters. Many of the city's 8,100 employees received a 2 percent raise, but 1,100 did not receive a raise.[6]
Benefits
City of Jacksonville employees are given the following benefits:[7]
- Health insurance
- Life
- Dental and vision
- Flexible spending account
- Retirement plans
Most employees, with some exceptions, are required to pay 8 percent of their base salaries towards their retirement plans.[8]
Vehicle use
As of 2008, 180 employees had either a take-home vehicle, car allowance or motor pool vehicle. At the time, the monthly car allowance average was about $300.[9]
Cell phone use
As of a 2009 city cell phone audit, the city paid for 1,600 cell phones, of which 2/3 came from one provider and the rest from multiple providers. The report outlined lack of oversight of cell phone costs and found:[10]
- Some phones incurred roaming charges for being used outside of the state of Florida
- Directory Assistance was used by some phones at a rate of $1.25 or $1.79 per call
- Phones were used for text messaging outside the city plan, sometimes costing the city $300 a month
- 56 cell phone plans went unused for 7 consecutive months and cost the city $10,000
In 2010, city employees signed a cell phone policy that made them liable for extra charges and 180 phones have since been shut off. These and other changes led to a savings of $180,000, according to the city manager of information technology.[11]
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.[12] 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.[12] 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.[12]
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
- ↑ "Gov. Scott posts state employees' salaries," Daytona Beach News-Journal, March 18, 2011
- ↑ Florida Has a Right to Know
- ↑ Jacksonville "Government Employee Salaries
- ↑ Salary findings for North Florida government agencies
- ↑ Jacksonville salary data
- ↑ Jacksonville "Hundreds of Jacksonville city employees received double-digit raises"
- ↑ Benefits
- ↑ Retirement
- ↑ Government Fleet "Take-Home Vehicle and Car Allowance Policy Being Revised for The City of Jacksonville"
- ↑ Cell Phone Audit (dead link)
- ↑ First Coast News "Taxpayers Paid for Ringtones, Games on Jacksonville Cellphones"
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 '’Philadelphia’s Quiet Crisis: The Rising Cost of Employee Benefits, Pew Charitable Trusts and the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, January 23, 2008
