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Milwaukee employee salaries, 2008-2011
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Milwaukee employee salaries are public records under the Wisconsin Open Records Law.
According to 2008 U.S. Census data, the state of Wisconsin and local governments in the state employed a total of 379,539 people.[1] Of those employees, 240,747 were full-time employees receiving net pay of $998,312,248 per month and 138,792 were part-time employees paid $123,619,591 per month.[1] More than 57% of those employees, or 218,585 employees, were in education or higher education.[1]
According to a 2010 report published at Northwestern University, Milwaukee is one of the 10 municipalities with the largest amount of unfunded pension liabilities. Nationwide there is $574 billion in unfunded pension liabilities for local pension plans, and this is in addition to the $3 trillion in debt facing state-sponsored pension plans.[2] The report states that the pension plans could be out of money as early at 2025.[2]
| Municipality (number of plans) | Liabilities, stated basis, June ’09 ($B) | Liabilities (ABO), treasury rate | Net pension assets ($B) | Unfunded liability ($B) | Unfunded liability / revenue | Unfunded liability per household ($) |
| Milwaukee (1) | 4.4 | 6.7 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 687% | 14,853 |
The following data for the City of Milwaukee was gathered from the city's April 27, 2011 response to a Public Records Request submitted April 14, 2011.
The city's response to the Public Records Request noted that there were no city employees with a salary of $150,000 or more per year. Per city ordinance, no city employee can have a salary higher than the mayor's salary, which was $147,335.76 at the time of the records request.
Salaries
In response to the Public Records Request, the city provided the annual salaries for the mayor, aldermen, and Common Council president for January 1, 2008, through January 1, 2011.
| Job title | January 1, 2008 to May 3, 2008 | May 4, 2008 to May 2, 2009 | May 3, 2009 to May 1, 2010 | May 2, 1010 to January 1, 2011 |
| Mayor | $143,882.70 | $147,335.76 | $147,335.76 | $147,335.76 |
| Alderman | $71,505.98 | $73,222.24 | $73,222.24 | $73,222.24 |
| Common Council President | $80,809.82 | $82,749.16 | $82,749.16 | $82,749.16 |
Benefits
The city requested clarification regarding the request for benefits information for the mayor and Common Council members. The city said that the request for benefits information for employees with salaries of $150,000 or higher was not applicable. The Public Records Request response noted that benefits available to city employees can be found in Chapter 350 of the City's Code of Ordinances, which is available online. Further information regarding benefits was pending a refined Public Records Request as of July 12, 2011.
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.[3] 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.[3] 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.[3]
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
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 2008 Wisconsin Public Employment U.S. Census Data
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 MacIver Institute, City of Milwaukee Pension a Ticking Time Bomb According to Northwestern Study, Oct. 12, 2010
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 '’Philadelphia’s Quiet Crisis: The Rising Cost of Employee Benefits, Pew Charitable Trusts and the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, January 23, 2008
