Here’s an article in Forbes titled Why Texas Is In Trouble—78,064 Public Employees With $100,000+ Paychecks Cost Taxpayers $12 Billion:
Everything is bigger in Texas—including the supersized salaries of its city managers, school superintendents, state staffers, and other public servants.
Last year, 78,064 state and local government employees made more than $100,000 each, and 18,600 of them out-earned Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who made $153,750.
Plus tips.
Top-paid city managers included Peter Vargas ($433,842 Allen); T.C. Broadnax ($406,850 Dallas); Spencer Cronk ($378,071 Austin); Bruce Glasscock ($374,537 Plano); Daniel Johnson ($357,744 Richardson); David Cooke ($348,730 Fort Worth); Tomas Gonzalez ($340,746 El Paso); and Robert Wood ($319,946 West Lake Hills).
. . .
El Paso gave a lengthy defense of their pay scale. Nevertheless, Tomas Gonzalez $340,746), their city manager, outearned every four-star general in the U.S. military ($268,332) last year.
More than every four-star general in the U.S. military. More than the governor. More than the Supreme Court Justices. More than any elected official in the country.
Overall, Texas state government is drowning in $99 billion dollars in debt, according to Truth in Accounting. It amounts to $3,413 per man, woman, and child. By contrast, Florida has only $12 billion in debt and a $600 per-person liability.
Remember, Mr. Gonzalez wanted to give $40 million to Great Wolf Resorts so they’d build a Great Wolf Lodge here. That kind of incompetence doesn’t come cheap.
In addition to his salary, Mr. Gonzalez gets a pension. And a car allowance. And he’s enrolled in the City’s Medical Insurance Plan. He gets to go to Dallas for his annual physical, and the City pays for that.
By contract, Mr. Gonzalez’ salary is pegged to the salaries of City Managers in Arlington, Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, and Tucson. All of those cities are a lot wealthier than El Paso.
Mr. Gonzalez’ exorbitant salary was granted to him by our elected officials who approved his contract. There’s another reason to vote the incumbents out of office in November.
Tomas “Tommy Boy” Gonzalez is a perfect example of the Fleecing of America.
More like the fleecing of El Paso…and where’s the outrage?
Just as with CEOs all over the map, the gap between what the average employee earns and the guys at the top (and, you know, they are almost all male) is simply way too big. No one is worth this kind of salary! I don’t care what they do, or how they do it. They simply cannot be doing any work that is worth that much money! Especially “Tommy Boy.”
Meanwhile, us peasant drivers at Sun Metro are making peanuts while the being the first in line to hear all the complaints from increasingly hostile passengers about all the (unnecessary) route changes that don’t serve them. And they’re right.
Sun Metro hates their passengers and it reflects in the current routes. Rather than just admit the Brio and the Streetcar are complete failures, they adjust the other routes and make simple travel so unbearable that people are forced to ride them. It’s embarrassing.
For the past 5 years, City Employees get 1% raises annually. Our Health Insurance goes up 5% per year. But “Tommy Boy” get his 5% every year plus he also gets the 1% regular City Employees get. Also he gets the Seniority Pay. Look at his new contract. Tommy Boy made sure he gets every dime he can get from El Paso Taxpayers. Plus his gets his annual trip to Dallas for his yearly Spa visit. What a RIP Off !!!
All of this was orchestrated by Dr. MICHEL NOE before he left office. All in exchange for political favors. It is now time for City Employees to take back City Hall for the Taxpayers. Let’s vote out Shithead Dee Margo. Vote for Oscar Lesser. Get rid of Tommy Boy.