Do you know how much the top employees at your city, county, or school district make? According to our latest report, there’s a good chance some of them earn more than Gov. Spencer Cox in annual salary.
In a new report from the Utah Taxpayers Association, we found that at least 176 local government officials, employees of cities, counties, and school districts, earn more than the governor’s salary of $183,237.85. These top earners range from city managers to school superintendents and attorneys for various local governments.
“Employee compensation is one of the largest items taxpayers pay for,” said Billy Hesterman, president of the Utah Taxpayers Association. “Many taxpayers in the state have seen their property taxes increase over the last five years, and one of the main reasons is the decisions by local elected officials to increase the pay of the employees they oversee. That is expected as costs for goods and services have increased, but the question has to be asked: at what point have we gone from working in the public sector being a service to it becoming a wealth-earning career?”
In most cases, employee salaries for government workers are based on years of service, comparable pay at similarly sized governments, and what a similar worker is being paid in the private sector. While those are fair metrics to consider, it does leave us wondering whether governments unintentionally, but automatically, push salaries upward by continually comparing themselves to one another.
This year’s report includes the five highest-paid employees for the top 50 cities, all 29 counties, and all public school districts in the state. We also include the salary for the highest-ranking elected official or governing body for each entity to show how much elected officials at these governments earn compared to their staff.
“No one is blaming the hard-working staff of local governments in Utah for making a fair wage,” said Hesterman. “We only want to ask the question: is this what taxpayers have in mind for government salaries, or should there be a recalibration of some kind as we move forward?”
The full report can be found at www.Utahtaxpayers.org
Salaries compared are take home annual salary only and not benefits.
