Become part of the movement for unbiased, accessible election information. Donate today.
Jersey City Department of Fire and Emergency Services, New Jersey, 2009-2011
This article may not adhere to Ballotpedia's current article guidelines. Please email us at editor@ballotpedia.org to suggest an improvement.
Jersey City Department of Fire and Emergency Services employee salaries are public records under the New Jersey Open Public Records Act. As of December 2011, the Jersey City Fire Department was comprised of 550 uniformed members and 50 civilian employees.[1]
Salaries and benefits
Salaries
Sunshine Review filed a public records request seeking salary information on Jersey City Department of Fire and Emergency Services employees, particularly ranking officers and anyone earning over $150,000 annually. The department did not respond to the request.
On an annual basis, New Jersey's 5,360 firefighters were paid an average, or mean, salary of $71,810 according to May 2009 figures, which works out to a mean hourly wage of $34.53.[2]
According to the website simplyhired.com, the average salary for a Jersey City Fire Department employee in 2011 was $46,000.[3]
As of 2011, Jersey City firefighters were expected to receive a 2.5 percent cost-of-living increase annually from 2013 through 2015, while new firefighters would have their salary increases and benefits curtailed.[4]
The department hired 63 new firefighters in September 2011 with a starting salary of $37,000.[5]
In 2010 the department swore in five new battalion chiefs earning salaries between $108,000 and $113,000 annually.[6]
Benefits
Sunshine Review filed a public records request seeking benefits information on Jersey City Department of Fire and Emergency Services employees. The department did not respond to the request.
Under a 2011 contract, all firefighters were asked to pay higher co-pays for prescription drugs, from $20 to $22 starting in 2012 and $24 starting in 2014.[7]
Retirement
Effect of payout cap
The Jersey City Fire Department lost 26 members in the first two months of 2010 and lost 20 more by March 1 of that year. Firefighters retired before a bill would go into effect that would cap payouts.[8]
Car use
Sunshine Review filed a public records request seeking information on automobiles issued to employees of the Jersey City Department of Fire and Emergency Services, specifically for 24-hour use. The department did not respond to the request.
Phone use
Sunshine Review filed a public records request seeking information on cellular phones and mobile devices issued to employees of the Jersey City Department of Fire and Emergency Services. The department did not respond to the request.
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.[9] 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.[9] 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.[9]
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
- Jersey City Department of Fire and Emergency Services
- N.J. police and firefighter salary cap proposed in Trenton, New Jersey Newsroom, November 23, 2010
- State Budget Solutions -- New Jersey
Footnotes
- ↑ Department of Fire and Emergency Services
- ↑ New Jersey Fire Fighter Salaries, eHow.com
- ↑ Simply Hired.com, Jersey City Fire Department Average Salary, Dec. 12, 2011 (dead link)
- ↑ NJ.com, New contract raises pay for firefighters, less to new hires, May 23, 2011
- ↑ NJ.com, Jersey City gets 63 new firefighters; will help rebuild ranks thinned by retirements in past year, Sept. 17, 2011
- ↑ Jersey City Independent, Five Jersey City Fire Department Workers Promoted to Battalion Chiefs, May 24, 2010
- ↑ NJ.com, New contract raises pay for firefighters, less to new hires, May 23, 2011
- ↑ "Jersey City is losing scores of firefighters eager to retire to protect benefits," NJ.com, February 25, 2010
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 '’Philadelphia’s Quiet Crisis: The Rising Cost of Employee Benefits, Pew Charitable Trusts and the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, January 23, 2008
