Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, Florida, 2009-2011
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Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office 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
Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office employees earned an average of $22,700 a year less as of September 2011 than their counterparts at the county’s fire-rescue division, according to a Palm Beach Post analysis of the departments’ payrolls.[3]
The average base salary for a full-time sheriff’s office employee was $67,492, the analysis showed. Full-time fire-rescue employees, by comparison, earned an average base salary of $90,245.[3]
2009
In 2009, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office spent one million more on overtime than in 2008.[4]
- The employee with the highest total pay was Chief Deputy Michael Gauger, with total pay of $195,613.
- There were 40 employees who earned more than $150,000 in total pay.
The following table outlines the top 10 employees by total pay:[5]
| Name | Location | Job title | Amount | Overtime | Total pay |
| Gauger, Michael E | Chief Deputy | Chief Deputy | $176,323.00 | $195,613.00 | |
| Bradshaw, Joseph A Jr | Department of Legal Affairs | Colonel Law Enforcement | $176,323.00 | $195,313.00 | |
| Davis, James L | Department of Administrative Services | Colonel CE | $176,323.00 | $194,053.00 | |
| Suszczynski, Edmund J Jr | District 8 - Wellington | Sergeant Law Enforcement | $91,675.00 | $50,604.00 | $192,792.00 |
| Barkdoll, Bruce E | Command Duty Officers | Captain Law Enforcement | $141,368.00 | $8,548.00 | $187,451.00 |
| Bilardello, Andrew | Command Duty Officers | Captain Law Enforcement | $131,000.00 | $185,102.00 | |
| Musco, Alfred J | South Regional Bureau | Major Law Enforcement | $160,027.00 | $3,590.00 | $181,413.00 |
| Waldrop, Tammy D | Corrections Operations Bureau | Major Corrections | $157,411.00 | $175,206.00 | |
| Stormes, James E | Law Enforcement Operations | Colonel Law Enforcement | $157,411.00 | $175,192.00 | |
| Kneisley, Christopher A | Corrections Security Bureau | Major Corrections | $156,804.00 | $173,758.00 |
This table outlines top 10 employees by overtime pay:[6]
- Nine employees earned more than $50,000 in overtime and seven of them worked in protective service.
| Name | Location | Job title | Amount | Overtime | Total pay |
| Wetherington, Bruce A | West Regional Contracts - District 5 | Protective Service LE | $69,883.00 | $70,881.00 | $151,271.00 |
| Ware, John D. Jr | Corrections Support Services | Protective Service Corr | $68,508.00 | $65,350.00 | $137,922.00 |
| Bryant, Alberta L. | Main Detention Center | Protective Service Corr | $56,994.00 | $61,531.00 | $121,781.00 |
| Allen, Sheila L | Main Detention Center | Protective Service Corr | $78,591.00 | $60,344.00 | $147,825.00 |
| Mentis, Michael A | Main Detention Center | Protective Service Corr | $76,326.00 | $57,002.00 | $142,035.00 |
| Undercover Officer | Undercover assignment | Undercover | $74,203.00 | $56,659.00 | $139,663.00 |
| Robinson, Eugenia V. | Main Detention Center | Protective Service Corr | $56,040.00 | $52,200.00 | $110,588.00 |
| Cunha, Simone A. | Main Detention Center | Protective Srvc Support-7 | $42,739.00 | $52,065.00 | $96,085.00 |
| Suszczynski, Edmund J Jr | District 8 - Wellington | Sergeant Law Enforcement | $91,675.00 | $50,604.00 | $192,792.00 |
| Berry, Brian I | West Regional Contracts - District 5 | Protective Service LE | $83,357.00 | $46,532.00 | $139,742.00 |
Vehicle use
Employees with take-home vehicles in Palm Beach County can use the car to commute to and from work and for personal use.[7]
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.[8] 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.[8] 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.[8]
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
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Fire-rescue pay tops Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office staff earnings, according to new analysis," Palm Beach Post, September 13, 2011
- ↑ Sun Sentinel "Palm Beach Sheriff's Office overtime"
- ↑ Sun Sentinel "Palm Beach Sheriff's Office overtime"
- ↑ Sun Sentinel "Palm Beach Sheriff's Office overtime"
- ↑ Palm Beach Post "South Florida deputies get take-home cars — and we pay"
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 '’Philadelphia’s Quiet Crisis: The Rising Cost of Employee Benefits, Pew Charitable Trusts and the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, January 23, 2008
