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Montgomery County Sheriff's Department, Pennsylvania, 2008-2011
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The Montgomery County Sheriff's Department is a sheriff's office in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The Sheriff is the chief law enforcement officer of the county under the Pennsylvania Constitution, and while most police work is done by local and state police, the Sheriff's broad powers authorize his/her deputies to enforce the law.[1]
Salaries and benefits
Salaries
Sunshine Review reviewed department salaries from 2008 to 2011. The information was gathered from county data after Sunshine Review filed a public records request.
At the time of the request, there were 124 employees in the Montgomery County Sheriff's Department. All but one employee were salaried.[2]
- The highest paid employee in the department was Chief Deputy Alfred Ricci, who earned a salary of $86,729. He earned $20,000 more than the next highest paid employee, Lt. Jospeh Gertenitch, who earned $67,400.[2]
- The lowest salary was that of an office support staff member, with a salary of $23,802.[2]
- Payment drawn by Montgomery County Sheriff Eileen Whalon Behr was not included in the salary information provided by Montgomery County.[2]
Seventy-six of the 124 Sheriff's Department employees earned between $30,000 and $39,999.
Benefits
Montgomery County provides its employees with medical, dental and vision coverage. 2011 coverage rates are as follows:[3]
- Under medical coverage a single payer pays $746.79, while an employee carrying two additional people pays $2,146.51.
- Vision care is $5.06 for all levels of coverage.
- Dental care is $31.32 for a single payer and $94.86 for an employee carrying two additional people.
Phone use
By May 2011, when Sunshine Review requested documents, the Sheriff's Department had spent $3,397.90 for cell phones and mobile devices.[4] In 2010, costs for cell phones and other mobile devices totaled $19,106.24.[5] The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office spent $15,717.95 for cell phone and pager use in 2008.[6]
Car use
There were 70 vehicles operated by the Montgomery County Sheriff's Department according to data received from the county through a 2011 public records request.[2] The information provided by the county included the department to which the vehicles belonged as well as the make and model. It did not contain information on price of the vehicle or maintenance costs.
- Department vehicles included four motorcycles, two buses and multiple SUVs and trucks.
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.[7] 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.[7] 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.[7]
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
- Pennsylvania local government salary: Law Enforcement
- Montgomery County employee salaries
- Pennsylvania state government salary
- Pennsylvania
- Public employee salary
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Montgomery County Sheriff's Department
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Montgomery County salary data and vehicles list, 2008-2011 (dead link)
- ↑ Montgomery County Benefits, monthly rates 2008-2011
- ↑ Montgomery County 2011 General Ledger Report on phones
- ↑ Montgomery County 2010 General Ledger Report on phones
- ↑ Montgomery County 2008 General Ledger Report on phones
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 '’Philadelphia’s Quiet Crisis: The Rising Cost of Employee Benefits, Pew Charitable Trusts and the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, January 23, 2008
