By Chris Togneri
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Copyright 2008 Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
PITTSBURGH — The highest paid city and county employees last year included paramedics, firefighters and police officers, some of whom made tens of thousands of dollars in overtime, according to city and county controllers’ records.
The highest paid city employee in 2007 was Jerome Wasek, a paramedic crew chief who earned $145,849.06 — including more than $87,000 in overtime.
After Wasek, the second- and third-highest paid city employees were paramedics. Anthony Desantis made more than $83,000 in overtime, boosting his earnings to $135,786.63, and John Soderberg took home $80,000 in overtime, lifting his earnings to $134,472.85. Paramedic Paul Sabol made the Top 10 by earning more than $68,000 in overtime for a yearly total of $124,989.63.
Not all of the overtime is funded by taxpayers, said Tony Weinmann, a paramedic and executive union officer. Much of the overtime paramedics earn comes from working special events, such as concerts and sporting events. For a Steelers game, 25 paramedics are needed, he said. The teams, universities and promoters reimburse the city for the overtime pay, he said.
Understaffing contributes to the high overtime. Emergency Medical Services Chief Robert McCaughan said his department has eight paramedic vacancies that should be filled by mid-May. Caps are in place to prevent paramedics from working too many hours.
“With health care, it’s 24 hours a day,” Weinmann said. “We are short, but we provide a service 24 hours a day. When you provide that kind of coverage, you have to work OT.”
Power versus money
Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s $96,141.47 annual salary did not place him among the top 50 earners in the city last year.
That should not come as a surprise, said James Craft, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh’s Joseph Katz Graduate School of Business.
The heads of local governments typically earn less than many subordinates, he said. Politicians value power and career advancement over money, so they must pay good salaries to attract and retain quality staff, he said.
“They chose different career paths,” Craft said. “Part of their reward is the fact that they get visibility, recognition and career advancement, which can make up for other areas. Their aspirations tend to be in terms of political opportunity (and) career advancement.”
On the list of top earners were Pittsburgh police Lt. Thomas Atkins and Sgt. John Fisher, who made more than $50,000 each in overtime last year. Both men earned much of their overtime while working security at Heinz Field, PNC Park and Mellon Arena, according to overtime slips reviewed by the Tribune-Review.
The city recoups such earnings from the sports teams and promoters at the venues, Assistant Chief Regina McDonald said in an e-mail.
“When officers work secondary employment, the employer has the option of paying the officer directly or paying the officer through the city,” she wrote. “If they choose to pay through the city, we pay the officer and bill the employer. The Pirates, Steelers and (Penguins) pay through the city, so we bill them. There is also a cost recovery fee for secondary employment and employers are billed monthly.”
Police Chief Nate Harper was paid $107,230.16 last year. He is not eligible for overtime pay.
Professional expertise
At the county level, Medical Examiner Dr. Karl Williams earned $170,961.30, none of it through overtime, to make him the highest paid county employee. Deputy Medical Examiner Dr. Abdulrezak Shakir was fourth on the list at $135,484.08.
Kent George, the former head of the Allegheny County Airport Authority, brought home $246,297.80 — including more than $70,000 in bonuses, deferred payments and accrued sick and vacation time. New authority Chief Executive Bradley Penrod made $161,663.77 last year.
They all made significantly more last year than county Chief Executive Dan Onorato, who earned $90,000.
Again, not a surprise, Craft said.
“These are professionals who are hired for a particular expertise, and they have alternative options in the external market,” he said. “So that’s not surprising. They could go into private business and make a lot of money. You have to have public sector salaries that are reasonably comparable to private sector salaries if you want to compete.”
Comp time settlement
Two county police officers were among the Top 10 earners in 2007.
Officer Anthony Perry ranked No. 5 for making $125,493.62. Lt. Robert Downey, No. 8, took home $106,357.34.
Police Superintendent Charles Moffatt said Downey made some of his $20,000 in overtime while working security at the U.S. Open golf championship last summer at Oakmont Country Club. That money was repaid by the U.S. Open and Department of Homeland Security, he said.
Perry earned about $60,000 last year on top of his $65,319.54 base salary. Some of the additional earnings came through overtime while investigating county homicides, Moffatt said. But most of it came through a settlement on accrued compensatory time, Moffatt said.
Some police officers had accrued extensive compensatory time dating back years, he said. To clear the books and save funds, Moffatt said police agreed last year to pay the officers 75 percent of the value of their accrued time.
“We felt it was a fair deal,” Moffatt said. “The comp time had a stranglehold on us. But we didn’t want to just erase all those hours.”
Moffatt earned $101,940.06 last year. He is not eligible for overtime pay.
Shuman Juvenile Detention Center guard Richard Bratcher was the sixth-highest earner among county employees last year, even though his base salary is only $31,549.96. He received $19,438.79 for overtime, according to the Controller’s Office.
Bratcher was fired in 2005 after he and four other guards were accused of injuring a 14-year-old boy during a botched “scared straight” disciplinary action. Charges were later dropped against Bratcher. The county rehired him in March 2007 and paid him a $70,576 settlement, said Controller’s Office spokeswoman Pam Goldsmith.