Lynn Walsh

A safe city is at the top of most citizens’ lists; and to keep a city safe a strong police force is needed. According to the Division of Police 2008 Annual Report there are 1,876 sworn personnel officers and 335 civilian personnel officers. That is equivalent to 2.4 officers for every 1,000 people in Columbus. That is greater than the national average of two officers per 1,000 people.

Not only is Columbus higher than the national average the Capital City also sits above some of the larger cities. Based on 2005 numbers, Columbus had 2.5 officers per 1,000 people. That is greater than Los Angeles and Dallas, Texas.

Is lowering the number of officers per 1,000 people from 2.4 to the national average of two an option? Of course it could be, whether it is a solution is debatable. What is not debatable is whether or not it would save the city money.

Dropping the police force to the equivalent of two officers per 1,000 people in Columbus would mean the loss of about 440 officers. If the average police officer salary in 2008 for a police officer was $75,208, the city of Columbus would have seen more than $33.1 million in personnel savings last year in police officer salaries alone.

Last year Columbus saw over $28 million in overtime pay; almost half of that overtime pay went to employees in the Division of Police. 2009 is a new year and a new year means a fresh start; but, it seems for the Division of Police old habits are hard to break.

The Division of Police has paid out more than $2.5 million in overtime pay this year for police officers alone. Close to another million dollars in overtime pay has gone to civilian employees. This combined with shift differential pay (increases in the base pay rate for employees who work evening and night shifts) totals almost $4.5 million over base salary wages in 2009. Add to that another $3.7 million spent on paid holidays, including birthdays, and the total comes to $8.2 million in just six months.

If the level of spending stays on course throughout the remainder of the year the grand total will be $16.4 million. The division has only budgeted $12.3 million this year to pay its officers’ overtime, holiday and birthday benefits. That is more than the combined base salary of the 247 most recently hired officers which is $11.5 million. Diverting the $12.3 million in overtime, holiday and birthday pay to cover base salaries could create 296 new officers at the lowest pay grade.

Could hiring new officers and cutting overtime pay be a money-saving solution? The numbers say yes, but the politics are a little more sticky. A better question may be: Are they are even needed? Adding an additional 296 officers would bring the number of officers per 1,000 people in Columbus to three; 150% above the national average.

The Division of Police is the biggest personnel cost for the City of Columbus. It represents over 31% of total personnel costs in 2008, totaling over $166 million.

The Division of Police employed over 2,300 people last year. More than 950 of those employees earned more than $75,000 in 2008; that is more than 40% of the people employed by the Division of Police. 97% of those earning more than $75,000 were police officers.

A number of Division of Police employees are making even more than that, 150 employees took in more than $100,000 in 2008. More than 90% of those employees were police officers.

79% of employees in the Division of Police earned more than the median household income in Columbus. The percentage of police officers making more than that is even higher, 93%.

Employees in the Columbus Division of Fire are seeing plenty of green as well. Over 800 employees in the fire division took home more than $75,000 last year. More than 120 of them earned more than $100,000.

More than 1,500 employees in the fire division took home “other” pay that was more than $1,000. 20% of the total money paid toward Columbus Division of Fire salaries went to overtime or “other” pay last year.

So, who are the biggest earners working for the City of Columbus?  Employees protecting the public come out on top.  Eight of the top ten salaries belong to people working in the Department of Public Safety.

Police Chief James Garfield Jackson holds the top spot earning more than $200,000 a year.  Almost a quarter of that comes from “other” earnings. What constitutes “other” earnings?  According to The City Auditor’s Office “YTD Other includes, but is not limited to:  Terminal leave pay, Shift pay, Police Parade duty, etc.  The list of “other” pay codes is too lengthy to be broken down into individual columns.”

Holding the number two spot is 2008’s City Health Commissioner, Teresa C. Long.  Long makes just under $186,000 a year, $11,000 of which comes from “other” earnings.  Fire Chief Ned Pettus, Jr. takes the number three spot earning almost $183,000 a year.  Police Sergeant Michael Robison steals the number four spot thanks to over $10,500 in overtime pay and over $103,000 in “other” pay.  Rounding out the top five is Fire Assistant Chief Warren R. Cox earning over $158,500.

Mayor Michael Coleman holds the sixth spot, earning $158,302 a year.  Mayor Coleman does not receive any overtime pay and is the only top city earner of 2008 who does not receive “other” pay.  The number seven, eight, and nine spots belong to Fire Battalion Chief Douglas J. Smith, Fire Assistant Chief Jerry L. Mason, and Fire Assistant Chief Gregory A. Paxton respectively.  Coming in at number ten is Emergency Medical Service Coordinator David P. Keseg earning over $153,000 a year.

Extra hours means lots of extra money for the City of Columbus.  In 2008, total overtime pay for City Columbus employees was over $28 million.

Over 150 city employees made more than $25,000 in overtime alone last year.  That overtime payment alone is more than 65% of the median household earned in Columbus.  Those same employees represent 65% of the total overtime pay.

Who brought in the most?  The top ten employees who made the most overtime in 2008 all worked for the Police or Sewerage and Drain Division.  These same employees all made more than $106,000 total last year and all of the top ten overtime earners also took home “other” pay.

The City of Columbus paid these ten employees $80,407.83 more in overtime pay than in regular pay.  Their overtime pay is on average more than 51% of their total pay in 2008.

The City of Columbus seems to have found itself in a tough spot; an $80 million budget hole on one side and citizens needs on another.  The solution, according to city leaders, is to raise the income tax.

According to the Economic Research Service the median household income in Ohio is $46,645.  In Columbus it is even less than that, $37,897.  The per capita income in the city is less still, $20,450.

City of Columbus employees are a little better off it seems.  The median income for the almost 10,000 people employed by the City is $53,059.34.  That includes overtime pay but does not include pension, retirement, or benefits.

Total overtime pay for City of Columbus employees in 2008 totals more than $28 million.  More than 150 employees made more than $25,000 in overtime last year.  Those same employees represent 65% of the total overtime paid by the City of Columbus in 2008.

In the spirit of transparency, the Buckeye Institute requested a salary database from the City for all City of Columbus employees.  The City Auditor’s Office answered our request with .pdf documents detailing salary information including total overtime and “other” pay.

To make it easier to navigate through, the Buckeye Institute has converted the file into a Microsoft Excel document that can be downloaded and searched.

http://www.buckeyeinstitute.org/docs/XPP0947_YTD_2008.xls

The Buckeye Institute will be posting a series of stories related to the information found above in the hope of informing all Ohioans.