1. COLLIER COUNTY: What do government employees earn?
An online searchable database includes salary and job title information for county employees. At the top of the pay scale, when looking at base salary, is County Manager Amy Patterson with an annual salary of $270,000.
She’s followed by County Attorney Jeffrey Klatzkow, at $244,606; Deputy County Attorney Scott Teach, at $223,006; Deputy County Manager Edward Finn, at $209,475; and Public Utilities Administration Department Head Gursel Yilmaz, at $199,946.
But base pay doesn’t mean those employees were the top earners. When sorting by gross earnings, which includes overtime and other extra compensation, the top five earners for the 2024 fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, were:
- EMS Battalion Chief Eric Havens: $368,586 total, including $126,682 in overtime (base salary $146,899)
- EMS Battalion Chief Concetta Disarro: $285,386 total, with $97,054 in overtime (base salary $152,646)
- County Manager Amy Patterson: $282,963 total (no overtime)
- EMS Helicopter Ops Director of Maintenance Bhagwandass Ramoutar: $273,932 total, with $88,493 in overtime (base salary $129,207)
- County Attorney Jeffrey Klatzkow: $266,161 total (no overtime)
County officials said most of the overtime came from EMS employees regularly exceeding 40 hours a week due to their 24-hours-on, 48-hours-off shift rotation, triggering overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act. – Mickenzie Hannon/USA TODAY Network-Florida…