Texas local government salary

Texas local government salary data is public record.

Cities

News 4 has provided school superintendent salaries across the state for 2007-2008.

Sunshine Review reviewed San Antonio employee salary data as of January 1st for years 2008-2011. There were 9 employees earning over $150,000 in 2008, 19 employees in 2009 and 2010, and 22 in 2011. The total cost of the top 22 salaries in 2011 was $3,812,636.^[1]

According to the Texas Tribune, Houston has a total of 17,591 employees at an annual salary cost of $888,942,237 in 2011.^[2] The average salary is $50,533 and the highest salary is $238,254 for the EMS Physician Director.

Counties

In 2010 there are 51 Harris County employees earning over $150,000 in salary and nine employees earning more than $200,000 annually. Employees in three county positions garner salaries of $289,308, the highest earnings in the county. There are 505 employees earning more than $100,000.^[3]

• The Director of Infrastructure and County Engineer, Chief Medical Examiner and Director of Public Health all earn $289,308.
• The county Executive Director for Correction Health Services earns $251,556 annually.

According to the Texas Tribune, Dallas County has a total of 6,642 employees in 2011.^[4]

• The median salary is $39,540.
• The highest salary is $247,687 for Jeffrey J Barnard the Dir-Institute Forensic Sciences.
• The lowest salary is $20,134.
• There are 4 employees earning over $150,000 a year.

School districts

For the Houston Independent School District in 2011, 18 employees earned more than $150,000 with an average salary of $176,507.^[5]

• The highest paid employee was the Superintendent Terry Grier with an annual salary of $300,000.
• Richard Patton, the district's e-Rate Compliance Office, is the lowest of the group with $150,000.
• The total cost of the 18 employees is $3,177,136.08.

Law enforcement

According to the Texas Tribune, the Harris County Sheriff's Department has a total of 3,670 employees in 2011.^[6] The median salary is $50,876 and the highest salary is $251,555 for the Executive Director of Correctional Health Services.

Parole and probation officers

Texas' prison, parole and probation officers collectively make $2.8 billion.^[7]

Fire departments

The Houston Fire Department has a total of 3,944 employees at an annual salary cost of $229,057,470 in 2011.^[8] Houston Fire Department salaries are public records under the Texas Public Information Act.^[9] The average salary is $58,077 and the highest salary is $238,254 for the EMS Physician Director. There are 4 employees earning over $150,000 a year.

Public utilities

Even though public utilities traditionally do not release salary information, CPS Energy in San Antonio, recently released its top salaries.^[10] The report revealed the top 18 executives earn more than $4.2 million collectively, with the CEO Doyle Beneby earning a base salary of $360,000.^[11]

Bryan Texas Utilities will also release its executives salary data, after debating it for more then a year.^[12].^[13]

Salary articles

In 2011, Sunshine Review requested salary information from 19 local governments in the state.

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):

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 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.

Importance of public employee pay disclosure

In July 2010, the LA Times uncovered that officials in Bell, California were making remarkably high salaries.^[14] The Chief Administrative Officer Robert Rizzo was earning a yearly $787,637. It was later uncovered that Rizzo's total compensation after taking benefits into account topped $1.5 million dollars a year.^[15]

For comparison:^[14]

• Manhattan Beach with about 7,000 fewer people than Bell paid its most recent city manager $257,484 a year.
• Long Beach, with a population close to 500,000, pays its city manager $235,000 annually.
• Los Angeles County pays its Chief Executive William T Fujioka $338,458.

Corruption solution

After the Los Angeles Times report, governments began to proactively disclose salary information of its employees. Before the end of the Summer of 2010, more than a dozen cities in Orange County, for example, posted salary information on the front pages of their websites.^[16]

The cost of transparency websites maintaining such information ranges from the tens of thousands to the hundreds of thousands. These websites also save money, and this often is not taken into account when measuring costs.

Citizens upset about the breach of trust and armed with information formed a group called the Bell Association to Stop the Abuse, which pushed for an independent audit of city salaries and contracts.^[17]

Citizens, empowered with information, are key to keeping government free from corruption and efficient. A study published by the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia revealed that the city of Philadelphia has a problem with the efficiency and costs of public employee pensions. ^[18]. The amount that Philadelphia pays to pension recipients limits the city’s ability to use its budget effectively. The report revealed that there were more individuals receiving pension benefits—33,907 claimants in 2006—than workers in the city—28,701. ^[18] The authors of the study recommend three steps towards addressing the problem of high costs in pensions. ^[18] First, improve data collection so that decision-making in terms of pension policies is more informed. Second, promote transparency for better accountability to citizens. Third, reduce costs and use the savings for developing Philadelphia.

Resistance to public employee salary data as public records

The idea of making public employee salaries is relatively new. In 2008, several local government employee associations and unions protested the posting of state employee salaries by the newspaper The Sacramento Bee.^{[19] [20]} At the time, it was seen as a safety risk and invasion of privacy.

Sunshine Review aims in posting salary information

Often times, publicly posted salaries leave out important information. Salary schedules can be published are ranges, not as specific take-home compensation.^{[16] [15]}And high-level, highly-paid positions are often not disclosed proactively.^[16] Additionally, salaries leave out compensation received through health and retirement benefits, as well as benefits such as commuter allowances and cell phone reimbursements. This project aims to close the gap and provide a more accurate picture of public employee salaries for the sake of public education and transparency.

See also

• Texas public pensions
• Texas state government salary

External links

• Out of Balance? Comparing Public and Private Sector Compensation of 20 Years, Center for State & Local Government Excellence, 2010
• Public Employee Salaries, Texas Budget Source, 2011
• Employees and Salaries, TexasPolitics.com, 2011
• "New Dallas-Ft. Worth Website Posts City Employees’ Salaries Online, Pegasus News, August 10, 2009
• 2011 Government Employee Salaries, Texas Tribune
• "Texas last in benefits for public employees -- but government employees’ packages still beat private sector in all but 6 states," Texas Watchdog, March 3, 2011
• Mitch Daniels says government workers in 41 states make more than taxpayers who support them, PolitiFact--Texas, 2011
• "Are city employees salaries public information or are they protected for personal privacy?, Texas Center for Community Journalism

References

	v • d • e Texas local government employee salaries
By type	Cities Counties • School districts • Law enforcement • Fire departments
Local governments	Harris County • Dallas County • Tarrant County • Bexar County • Houston Independent School District • Dallas Independent School District • Austin Independent School • Fort Worth Independent School District • San Antonio • Houston • Harris County Sheriff • Dallas County Sheriff • Tarrant County Sheriff's Office • Bexar County Sheriff's Office • San Antonio Police Department • Houston Police Department • Texas Department of Public Safety • San Antonio Fire Department • Houston Fire Department

	v • d • e State of Texas Austin (capital)
Transparency	Public Information Act | Transparency Checklist | Government corruption reports | Transparency Legislation | Open Records procedures | Transparency Advocates | State budget | Taxpayer-funded lobbying associations |
Divisions	List of Counties | List of Cities | Texas school districts A - L | Texas school districts M - Z | Evaluation of county websites | Evaluation of city websites | Evaluation of school district websites |
Government	Texas State Constitution | Executive | House of Representatives | Senate |
Judiciary	Texas Supreme Court | Court of Appeals | Court of Criminal Appeals | District Courts | Judicial selection | 2008 Supreme Court elections | Judicial News | Judicial Activists |
Ballot Measures	Ballot measures (2007) | Initiative and referendum laws | History of direct democracy | Campaign finance requirements |