City payroll: 10 things to know

If you’re a Columbus/Muscogee County taxpayer, the employees of the Consolidated Government work for you. You pay their salaries, so you have a right to know what those salaries are.

With that in mind, we asked the city, under the Georgia Open Records Act, to provide a list of all the city’s full-time employees and their 2016 salaries. We do this every year, and put the list in a database on our website. It’s at ledger-enquirer.com/databases, along with similar lists of employees of Phenix City, Russell County and the Muscogee County School District.

A study of the Consolidated Government’s list shows that salaries break down like this:

▪ 17 people make six-figure incomes.

▪ 12 people make between $90,000-$100,000.

▪ 18 people make between $80,000-$90,000.

▪ 54 people make between $70,000-$80,000.

▪ 91 people make between $60,000-$70,000.

▪ 167 people make between $50,000-$60,000.

▪ 537 people make between $40,000-$50,000.

▪ 1,247 people make between $30,000-$40,000.

▪ 343 people make less than $30,000.

You may have noticed that almost exactly half of the city’s 2,488 full-time employees make between $30,000-$40,000. That includes the vast majority of public safety employees.

Also, keep in mind that these numbers reflect a one-day snapshot of the city’s payroll. Any organization that employs almost 2,500 full-time employees will have people hired, fired or retired quite frequently.

Here are 10 things you might not know about the city’s payroll:

Hard to compare apples to apples

Columbus median household income about $41,400. The Consolidated Government’s median individual income is $37,275. About 30 percent, or 762, of city employees make more than the city’s median family income. Columbus’ per capita income, according to the U.S. Census, is about $23,200, but that includes everyone, children and others not employed.

Highs and lows

The salary range for full-time city employees: $14,285 to $160,470, from Columbus Councilor Tom Buck to State Court Judges Andy Prather and Ben Richardson, respectively. Yes, Councilors are really part-time, but they’re listed on the payroll list as full-time.

While we’re on the subject

Aside from temporary freshman Buck’s $14,285 salary, most Columbus Councilors make $15,000-$16,000. The exceptions are Mimi Woodson, who makes $17,500 and Councilor/Mayor Pro Tem Evelyn Turner Pugh, who makes about $23,000.

Public Safety

Police Chief Ricky Boren is the top cop, salary-wise, making $107,220, which is slightly more than Sheriff John Darr at $106,540. But last year, the ranking was reversed, with Darr making $105,525 to Boren’s $104,695.

Other public safety officials make less. Fire Chief Jeff Meyer makes $103,250 and Marshal Greg Countryman makes $83,630, for example.

In case you’re curious

The four elected officials currently suing the city over their budgets make a combined total of almost $420,000 – Darr at $106,540, Countryman at $83,630, Superior Court Clerk Linda Pierce at $134,250 and Municipal Court Clerk Vivian Creighton Bishop at $95,000.

Heads up

The highest paid city department head would be City Attorney Clifton Fay, who makes $113,250, the same as Deputy City Managers Pam Hodge and Lisa Goodwin, who oversee department heads. The lowest paid department head would be Crime Prevention Director Seth Brown, who makes about $61,000.

Who’s the boss?

Forty-two city employees make more than Mayor Teresa Tomlinson’s $82,370 salary.

But wait …

Tomlinson’s not the lowest-paid city employee with a law degree. Several assistant district attorneys make less than the mayor.

Over-paid or under-paid?

Columbus City Manager Isaiah Hugley makes almost $141,500 managing a city government with a $265 million budget. Meanwhile, across the river, Phenix City Manager Wallace Hunter makes almost $158,000 managing a city with a $37 million budget.

But wait (again) …

Some say that’s because in Phenix City, the city manager really runs the show because the mayor is part-time. And that’s reflected in the mayors’ salaries. Phenix City Mayor Eddie Lowe makes $35,000, compared to Tomlinson’s $82,000-plus.

Adding things up, Columbus pays its mayor and city manager together about $223,000 while Phenix City pays their top two a total of $193,000. Still, Phenix City pays them 86 percent of what Columbus pays for managing a budget that’s 14 percent of Columbus’.

This story was originally published April 7, 2016 at 8:15 PM with the headline "City payroll: 10 things to know."