According to Alabama Department of Finance data curated by the Birmingham Business Journal, the top 25 highest paid Alabama state employees made an average of $246,311 in 2014, a 3 percent bump from the year before. The most recent data available pegs Alabama’s median household income at $42,849, meaning the top 25 state employees make almost six times the state’s median.
University employees are not included on the list, which is why you won’t see Nick Saban’s $6.9 million yearly salary or Gus Malzahn’s $3.85 million a year package listed below.
What you will see, however, are nine employees from the Retirement Systems of Alabama (RSA), including the top four and the No. 1 highest earning state employee, Dr. David Bronner, the RSA’s CEO.
A recent research paper from the Alabama Policy Institute (API), a conservative think tank based in Birmingham, found that the RSA is currently $15.2 billion short on fulfilling its obligations to current and future state government retirees. Alabama taxpayers are propping the fund up to the tune of $1 billion this year alone.
Dr. Bronner refutes the study, saying it is built on “erroneous, contradictory and/or flawed assumptions.”
Other notable high-paid state employees include state health officer Dr. Don Williamson (No. 5), state superintendent of schools Dr. Tommy Bice (No. 11) and Judge Samuel Welch (No. 25) , the presiding judge on the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals.
Three employees from the Department of Public Health, three from the Department of Mental Health and two from the Alabama State Bar also made the list, which you can find below.
1) David Bronner
Salary: $572,097.02
CEO, Retirement Systems of Alabama
2) Donald Yancey
Salary: $331,139.64
Deputy director, Retirement Systems of Alabama
3) R. Marc Green
Salary: $306,378.29
Director of investments, Retirement Systems of Alabama
4) M. Hunter Harrell
Salary: $276,069.17
Director of private placements, Retirement Systems of Alabama
5) Dr. Donald Williamson
Salary: $271,516.66
M.D., state health officer, Alabama Department of Public Health
6) Mark Heinrich
Salary: $271,400.00
Chancellor, Alabama Department of Postsecondary Education
7) Julie Barranco
Salary: $255,011.16
Director of fixed incomes, Retirement Systems of Alabama
8) Ronald Jones
Salary: $243,095.12
Chief examiner, Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts
9) Glen Pringle
Salary: $243,002.73
Development director, Retirement Systems of Alabama
10) William Ashmore
Salary: $233,902.05
CEO, Alabama State Employees’ Insurance Board
11) Thomas Bice
Salary: $229,416.60
State superintendent, Alabama Department of Education
12) Randall Hillman
Salary: $225,299.92
Executive director, Alabama Office of Prosecution Services
13) Diane Scott
Salary: $221,610.17
CFO, Retirement Systems of Alabama
14) William Kelley
Salary: $215,314.55
Director of benefits, Retirement Systems of Alabama
15) Dr. Thomas Miller
Salary: $213,216.10
Chief medical officer, Alabama Department of Public Health
16) Dr. Karen Landers
Salary: $207,192.80
Assistant state health officer, Alabama Department of Public Health
17) Dr. Nabajyoti Kakati
Salary: $206,784.90
Psychiatrist, Alabama Department of Mental Health
18) Dr. Sabin Sebastian
Salary: $206,684.90
Psychiatrist, Alabama Department of Mental Health
19) Dr. Marie Glenn
Salary: $206,192.80
Psychiatrist, Alabama Department of Mental Health
20) James McLain
Salary: $205,400.00
General counsel, Alabama State Bar
21) Keith Norman
Salary: $205,400.00
Executive director, Alabama State Bar
22) Dr. Mary McIntyre
Salary: $204,921.80
M.D., assistant state health officer, Alabama Department of Public Health
23) Leura Canary
Salary: $204,831.58
General counsel, Retirement Systems of Alabama
24) Gregory Fitch
Salary: $201,745.00
Executive director, Alabama Commission on Higher Education
25) Samuel Welch
Salary: $200,153.12
Presiding judge, Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals
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— Cliff Sims (@Cliff_Sims) December 3, 2014
