Watch the segment and interview here.

You’ve probably heard about the movement to increase minimum wage in New York State. Fast food workers have been rallying for months to get a raise, but while this is happening, did you know your tax payer dollars are going to hundreds of New York State employees making more than the governor?

Governor Andrew Cuomo, the head of the state, makes $179,000 per year. The Empire Center for Public Policy did some research and found more than 1,500 state employees are making more than the governor.

This has some taxpayers frustrated, especially those making minimum wage.

“I hope these guys can understand where we’re coming from at the end of the day. If they were in our shoes, how would they react?” Joscline Harvey is 19 years old and a single mother. She works at Taco Bell. She makes $8.75 an hour. “Some people were born with more power than what most of us were. Most of us come from the struggle and you have to work your way up.”

While thousands of workers in New York struggle to make a livable wage, officials with the Empire Center for Public Policy say the number of state employees making more than Governor Andrew Cuomo continues to rise.

We spoke with the executive director of the Empire Center via Skype. Tim Hoefer said, “The governor is the head of state, he’s the person who’s in charge of everything, we elect him, we’re able to hold him responsible for what’s happening in NY. We also pay 1,500 people more than we pay him. That says something.”

To be exact, the Empire Center reports 1,512 state employees made more than the governor in 2014. The year before that, the number was 1,316.

Who’s the highest paid state employee? Alain Kaloyeros, the executive officer of SUNY Polytechnic Institute. It’s the public research university in Utica. Hoefer says Kaloyeros’s salary, which includes money from the state research foundation, comes in at more than $1.5-million per year. Hoefer said, “This is taxpayer dollars that are being spent. These are dollars I’m contributing via my tax. It’s the dollars you’re contributing via taxes. So you have this inert right to know how it’s being spent, where it’s going.”

Most of the other state employees making more than the governor include professional staff at state psychiatric centers and people who work for hospitals related to SUNY and CUNY.

When you compare New York to other states, most of the highest paid public employees are football or basketball coaches at state universities.

Reporter Nikki Rudd: “Obviously when you’re talking doctors, executive directors of medical centers, those people are highly paid nationally.”
Tim Hoefer: “These are jobs even in the private sector are higher paid jobs.”

We wanted to know what Governor Cuomo had to say about the number of people making high-level salaries on the taxpayer’s dime. He wasn’t made available for an interview but officials with his office say, “Under Governor Cuomo, executive agency spending has decreased, bureaucracy has been consolidated and state government has been streamlined.”

Officials also say many of the highest paid staff in the state are paid proportionately with their training and expertise and their salaries reflect the reality of having to attract and keep employees with the proper qualifications.

Hoefer says regardless of how you feel about the highest paid salaries in New York, it’s important to be informed. “We know how much you’re making, we know what you’re doing, we’re watching this money go where it’s going, you’re going to be held accountable.”

Meanwhile for people like Joscline Harvey, she’s just hoping to make enough money to support her family. “I don’t have child care. I don’t get public assistance. So I don’t get any of the help. I have to work and when I do work, I still can’t take care of home.”

If you have concerns about the amount of state employees making more than the governor, you can contact Governor Cuomo’s office.

© 2015 WHEC-TV LLC