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CONTACT: Lise Bang-Jensen

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The names and salaries of more than 179,000 people who worked for New York’s county, city, town and village governments in 2008-09 were posted today in a searchable database at SeeThroughNY.net, the transparency website sponsored by the Empire Center for Public Policy.

In announcing the database addition, the Empire Center also released a report summarizing average wages on a regional basis for each of the 1,512 government jurisdictions contained in the database, which was gleaned from reports filed with the state pension system. Some highlights:

• County and municipal salaries during the period totaled just over $9 billion.
• The highest paid municipal employee in the state in 2008-09 was Thomas Purtill, a now-retired Town of Clarkstown police captain who earned a total of $543,416.
• Out of 3,800 individuals whose name appeared on multiple payrolls during the year, the individual with the most numerous employers was Raynor Duncombe, who earned $37,492 as a part-time attorney for 11 Schoharie County jurisdictions.
• One individual who appeared on both the “highest-paid” and “multiple employers” list was Michael J. Bollender, who collected a total of $227,285 in salaries while working for six different western New York towns and villages.
• The highest average salary for any group–$160,173—was reported for the six officers employed by the tiny Village of Kensington on Long Island. Among larger employers, the town of Clarkstown paid its 172 cops a state-leading average of $151,694. Six-figure average salaries were the norm for local police and firefighters throughout Long Island and the lower Mid-Hudson region.
• For general employees outside the police and fire pension systems, the top average salary of $71,675 was paid by the Village of Sands Point. Among counties, Westchester general employees were paid the highest statewide average salary at $70,963.Among cities, Yonkers topped the statewide list at $71,675. And among towns, the statewide leader was yet another Westchester jurisdiction – New Castle, at $68,960.

The database consists of full-time and part-time workers, including employees who left or retired during the fiscal year, and employees hired during the year. Salary totals include overtime and pay for unused sick and vacation time.

The SeeThroughNY website also offers searchable payroll databases, with search results downloadable in spreadsheet form, for all state agencies and public authorities; the City of New York; and teachers and administrators in all school districts outside New York. Other government databases at SeeThroughNY include teachers’ union contracts and schools superintendent employment contracts for all school districts; bi-annual legislative office expenditures; legislative “member item” pork barrel spending; and links to other government and private databases.