Montgomery County paid 103 employees more than $100,000 last year, compared to 83 in 2016, according to the I-Team Payroll Project searchable database of public employees.
Local governments make payroll with your money, which is why the I-Team has assembled and made available a searchable database of pay for public employees.
County Administrator Joe Tuss was the county’s highest-paid worker last year with compensation totaling $202,408. This is up from his $197,308 gross compensation in 2016.
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The county's highest paid employee in 2016 was Lee Lehman, the chief deputy coroner who retired and cashed out sick and vacation leave to get a check for $193,000 and bring his gross pay to $374,194. He was then rehired and made $156,960 last year, making him the county's 14th highest paid worker.
An I-Team investigation last year found the ability to cash out unused sick and vacation leave is a rare perk in the private sector, though local governments are on the hook for tens of millions of dollars worth of these payments.
SPECIAL REPORT: Taxpayers on hook for $444M in unused state worker leave
The 10 highest paid Montgomery County employees in 2017 were:
1. Joe Tuss, county administrator: $202,408
2. Kent Harshbarger, coroner: $195,958
3. Brian Martin, executive director of the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission: $181,100
4. Bryan Casto, coroner’s office forensic fellow: $179,570
5. Susan Brown, coroner’s office forensic pathologist: $179,070
6. Robert Shott, coroner’s office forensic pathologist: $178,900
7. Russell Uptegrove, coroner’s office forensic pathologist: $175,290
8. Helen Jones-Kelley, executive director of the Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board: $171,094
9. Michael Dohn, Public Health medical director: $170,932
10. Thomas Kelley Jr., assistant county administrator: $169,214
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