Long Island police officers dominated the list of highest-paid local government employees outside New York City in 2014, according to the Empire Center’s 2015 “What They Make” report. Thirty-one of the 50 highest-paid local government employees were police officers on Long Island, including 24 Nassau County police officers.
The report uses pay data reported to the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) between April 1, 2014 and March 31, 2015. The amounts listed in the report do not include fringe benefits such as health insurance or employer pension contributions, which can add 35 percent or more to the cost for taxpayers.
Users can search the 175,327 pay records of town, city, county and village employees on SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s transparency website. The Long Island data also show:
- The 12 police officers of the village of Lloyd Harbor were the highest-paid local police officers in the state, averaging $187,973. Twenty-one Long Island village police departments had average pay exceeding $125,000.
- The Suffolk County government’s 2,387 employees belonging to the Police and Fire Retirement System (PFRS)—consisting almost exclusively of Suffolk County police officers—were paid an average of $154,474 while Nassau County’s PFRS members averaged $149,645.
- Glen Cove had the highest-paid city police department in the state. Its 50 uniformed employees averaged $150,392.
- At least 18 Suffolk County police officers were also paid by village police departments during the period.
- Oyster Bay had the highest-paid town employees, averaging $60,215, while Shelter Island had the highest-paid town police. Ten Shelter Island police officers were paid an average of $131,362.
The ten highest-paid local government employees on Long Island were:
The Empire Center is a non-partisan, non-profit independent think tank based in Albany. SeeThroughNY includes payroll and pension data for state and local government employees and retirees; detailed expenditure data for the state Legislature; comparative statistics on local government spending; a searchable database of state revenue and expenditures; and copies of all teacher union contracts and superintendent of schools contracts.