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Miami-Dade County employee salaries, 2008-2011
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Miami-Dade County employee salaries are public records under the Florida Sunshine Law.
Salaries and benefits
2011
In 2011, Mayor Carlos Giminez created five new "deputy mayor" positions. Salaries for four of the five new positions were as follows:[1]
| Name | Position | Salary |
| Ed Marquez | Deputy Mayor | $267,000 |
| Jack Osterholt | Deputy Mayor | $250,000 |
| Genaro Iglesias | Deputy Mayor | $225,000 |
| Alina T. Hudak | Deputy Mayor | $259,000 |
Mayor Giminez also proposed cutting base pay for employees instead of requiring higher contributions to health insurance. Instead of a 10% healthcare contribution, he recommended an 8% base salary reduction. This, along with previous salary reductions, amounted to a base pay cut of 11% to 21%. The changes were estimated to save $135 million while the county faced a $409 million budget gap in the next year.[2]
2009
In total, there were 3,301 employees earning over $100,000 (10% of all employees) in 2009 and 2010.[3] Employees with the police and fire departments made up 1,400 of the list's names.[4]
There were 75 employees earning over $200,000:[5]
| Name | Position | Total take-home salary |
| Cathy Jackson | Director, Audit and Management Services | $230,549.87 |
| Thomas Abbott | Assistant County Attorney | $267,410.06 |
| Jose Abreu | Assistant County Attorney | $258,512.76 |
| Deborah Mastin | Assistant County Attorney | $251,085.19 |
| Robert Meyers | Director, Commission on Ethics and Public Trust | $240,737.37 |
| Timothy Ryan | Director, Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation | $210,287.66 |
| James Allen | Assistant County Attorney | $278,567.42 |
| Maria Arista Volsky | Assistant County Attorney | $217,406.71 |
| Joni Armstrongcoff | Assistant County Attorney | $287,164.32 |
| Steven Bass | Assistant County Attorney | $261,001.14 |
| Hugo Benitez | Assistant County Attorney | $284,783.19 |
| Ronald Bernstein | Assistant County Attorney | $230,158.69 |
| Jason Bloch | Assistant County Attorney | $219,326.55 |
| Geraldine Bonzon-Keenan | Assistant County Attorney | $205,487.55 |
| William Candela | Assistant County Attorney | $230,712.35 |
| Karon Coleman | Assistant County Attorney | $204,018.21 |
| Craig Coller | Assistant County Attorney | $270,204.16 |
| Robert Cuevas, Jr. | County Attorney | $358,856.13 |
| Robert Duvall | Assistant County Attorney | $270,644.44 |
| Eric Gressman | Assistant County Attorney | $254,418.61 |
| Evan Grob | Assistant County Attorney | $267,549.97 |
| Gerald Hefferman | Assistant County Attorney | $258,036.99 |
| Cynthia Johnson-Stacks | Assistant County Attorney | $273,311.14 |
| Marlene Klein | Assistant County Attorney | $200,150.61 |
| Lee Kraftchick | Assistant County Attorney | $284,886.72 |
| Bruce Libhaber | Assistant County Attorney | $209,020.24 |
| Thomas Logue | Assistant County Attorney | $245,490.20 |
| Jess McCarty | Assistant County Attorney | $245,473.80 |
| John McInnis | Assistant County Attorney | $218,629.27 |
| Bernardo Pastor | Assistant County Attorney | $210,385.44 |
| Abigail Price Williams | First Assistant County Attorney | $293,776.66 |
| Douglas Rice | Assistant County Attorney | $218,766.79 |
| Thomas Robertson | Assistant County Attorney | $227,669.87 |
| Eric Rodriguez | Assistant County Attorney | $228,011.84 |
| Oren Rosenthal | Assistant County Attorney | $208,071.77 |
| Gerald Sanchez | Assistant County Attorney | $273,522.63 |
| Edward Shafer | Assistant County Attorney | $224,582.38 |
| Eugene Shy, Jr. | Assistant County Attorney | $255,510.58 |
| Stephen Steiglitz | Assistant County Attorney | $250,898.48 |
| Peter Tell | Assistant County Attorney | $234,359.17 |
| Melinda Thornton | Assistant County Attorney | $246,560.91 |
| Carlos Alvarez | Mayor (since recalled) | $315,462.39 |
| George Burgess | County Manager | $422,118.22 |
| Alina Hudak | Assistant County Manager | $264,343.27 |
| Ysela Llort | Assistant County Manager | $260,970.34 |
| Michael Spring | Director, Department of Cultural Affairs | $245,539.50 |
| Angel Petisco | Director, Enterprise Technology Services | $200,592.55 |
| Lowell, Hammer | Director, Finance | $211,597.86 |
| Stephen Hunt | Fire Lieutenant | $210.360.42 |
| Herminio Lorenzo | Fire Chief | $225,010.09 |
| Alan Perry | Chief Fire Officer | $208,653.60 |
| Alfredo Suarez | Deputy Fire Chief | $201,479.63 |
| Judith Zito | Director, Government Information Center | $209,290.28 |
| Patricia Braynon | Director, Housing Finance Authority | $247,124.54 |
| Angela Maher | Director, Human Resources Department | $213,540.55 |
| Christoph Mazzella | Inspector General | $251,053.52 |
| Kenneth Hutchins | Assistant Medical Examiner | $209,382.22 |
| Bruce Hyma | Medical Examiner | $250,940.25 |
| Mark Shuman | Assistant Medical Examiner | $209,764.76 |
| Gregory Fortner | Director, Public Housing Agency | $223,058.67 |
| James Loftus | Director, Police Department | $200,297.82 |
| Kathleen Woods Richards | Director, Department of Solid Waste Management | $206,244.12 |
| Jennifer Glazer-Moon | Director, Strategic Business Management | $215,417.52 |
| Hugo Salazar | Deputy Director, Strategic Business Management | $227,018.34 |
| Susanne Torriente | Director, Office of Sustainability | $214,367.41 |
| Harpal Kapoor | Director, Miami-Dade Transit | $242,602.70 |
| Charlena Minus | Rail Traffic Controller | $217,179.18 |
| Eric Walker | Rail Traffic Controller | $208,954.75 |
| Henry Gillman | Assistant County Attorney | $259,007.38 |
| John Renfrow | Director, Water and Sewer | $238,232.61 |
| Joseph Ruiz, Jr. | Deputy Director, Water and Sewer | $227,018.34 |
| L Yoder | Deputy Director, Water and Sewer | $205,675.62 |
2008
The top 10 salaries in 2008 were as follows:[6]
| Name | Position | Department | Year hired | Annual salary |
| BURGESS, GEORGE M | COUNTY MG | County Manager | 2003 | $343,516.00 |
| CUEVAS JR, ROBERT A | CTY ATTORN | County Attorney\'s Office | 2007 | $290,732.00 |
| PRICE WILLIAMS, ABIGAIL | ASS CTY 4 | County Attorney\'s Office | 1990 | $285,368.00 |
| KRAFTCHICK, LEE A | ASS CTY 4 | County Attorney\'s Office | 1982 | $281,705.00 |
| BENITEZ, HUGO E | ASTCTY AT3 | County Attorney\'s Office | 1986 | $281,597.00 |
| DUVALL, ROBERT A | ASTCTY AT3 | County Attorney\'s Office | 1980 | $279,175.00 |
| GOLDSTEIN, THOMAS | ASTCTY AT3 | County Attorney\'s Office | 1975 | $278,701.00 |
| COLLER, CRAIG H | ASTCTY AT3 | County Attorney\'s Office | 1979 | $277,984.00 |
| KRACHT, JAMES K | ASTCTY AT3 | County Attorney\'s Office | 1975 | $276,525.00 |
| ARMSTRONGCOFFEY, JONI | ASTCTY AT3 | County Attorney\'s Office | 1982 | $275,329.00 |
Benefits
Miami-Dade County employees receive the following benefits:[7]
- Pension plan through the Florida Retirement System
- Dental
- Disability
- Medical
- Life
- Deferred compensation program
- Paid vacation
- Sick days
- Paid holidays
Employees are required to pay 5% of base pay towards their health insurance and a 3% contribution towards their retirement plan.[8][9]
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.[10] 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.[10] 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.[10]
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
- ↑ "Miami-Dade mayor's new hires earning handsome salaries," MiamiHerald.com, July 28, 2011
- ↑ Miami Herald "County employees' future: Low pay or costly health benefits"
- ↑ "Miami-Dade County Employees' Salaries Criticized," CBSMiami.com, November 9, 2010
- ↑ "Salaries for 3,000 county employees released," WSVN.com, November 10, 2010
- ↑ Salary Information For Employees Earning $100,000 or more, FY 2009-2010
- ↑ Miami Fly "Miami-Dade Employee Salaries (2008)"
- ↑ Benefits
- ↑ Employee FAQ
- ↑ Miami Herald "County employees' future: Low pay or costly health benefits"
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 '’Philadelphia’s Quiet Crisis: The Rising Cost of Employee Benefits, Pew Charitable Trusts and the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, January 23, 2008
