D.C. fields fewer workers, but payroll cost soars

First of three parts

The D.C. government’s payroll grew by nearly $180 million between 2002 and last year, while its work force decreased by more than 2,000 personnel during that period, city records show.

In addition, the number of city workers earning salaries of $150,000 or more climbed from nine in 2002 to 43 last year, when the median income for a four-member D.C. family was $56,067.

As D.C. taxpayers face higher property assessments, user fees and traffic fines, the city government is paying more in salaries and benefits for its smaller work force.

Meanwhile, the District last year amassed a $370 million general fund budget surplus, and city officials perennially eye other revenue sources, such as a commuter tax.

Data from the D.C. Office of the Chief Financial Officer show that the government’s payroll rose 11.6 percent — from $1.55 billion to $1.73 billion — between 2002 and last year.

During that period, the total number of employees on the payroll declined by 5.3 percent — from 41,171 to 39,088 employees. The number of authorized full-time employee positions decreased from 31,307 in 2002 to 30,434 last year.

The Washington Times has obtained copies of the payroll data under a Freedom of Information Act request.

Compared with other cities of similar size, the District, with a population of 570,000, has seen staggering growth in its payroll, with 1,268 employees being paid an annual salary in excess of $100,000 — up from 690 workers in 2002.

In Baltimore, which has 628,670 residents and 15,500 city workers, 55 employees earned annual salaries of more than $100,000. Two of those employees earn salaries of more than $150,000.

Even in Chicago, which has a population of nearly 4 million and 37,639 employees on the city payroll, 1,100 workers make $100,000 or more and 28 earn $150,000 or more.

D.C. officials defended the high salaries, saying they need to pay more to attract and retain quality personnel while meeting the governmental needs of a city and of a state.

Lisa Marin, who heads the D.C. Office of Personnel, said 92 percent of the jobs under the mayor’s authority are union jobs that provide contractually negotiated pay raises. She said the city has been negotiating to make more pay raises merit-based instead of automatic.

“We’re trying to fix — to right-size — our pay structure so we don’t have those,” she said, “so that it’s not an entitlement to get a pay increase.”

While base salaries in the D.C. government may be larger than those in other jurisdictions, lucrative retirement and benefit packages in other jurisdictions bring the total compensation figures in line, Miss Marin said.

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