Another reason to despise public employees: 1 in 5 city of Seattle workers earning 6 figures.

Un fricking believeable.

Winner of Eight Pulitzer Prizes

Originally published September 17, 2011 at 6:30 PM | Page modified September 17, 2011 at 6:38 PM

1 in 5 city of Seattle workers earning six figures

The number of Seattle city employees making at least $100,000 has grown tenfold in less than a decade, with one in five workers earning six figures last year. But it's not bureaucrats behind desks driving the surge.

By Bob Young and Justin Mayo

Seattle Times staff reporters

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Former Mayor Greg Nickels

KEN LAMBERT / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Sgt. Rich O'Neill, president of the Seattle Police Officers' Guild

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How we did the analysis

To report this story, The Seattle Times analyzed nine years (2002-10) of payroll data provided by the city of Seattle. The data included regular, overtime and gross pay, as well as department and job title for part-time and full-time employees.

The Times calculated the number of employees making at least $100,000 in each department using the gross pay, which typically equals regular pay plus overtime pay. However, for some employees, gross pay might also include additional compensation such as vacation cash-outs, workers' compensation, standby and/or premium pay. In some cases, employee benefits such as a retirement match or health care for domestic partners are counted as gross pay.

The number of Seattle city employees making at least $100,000 has grown tenfold in less than a decade, with one in five workers earning six figures last year.

But it's not bureaucrats behind desks driving the surge.

Of the 2,309 city employees in the six-figure club last year, 79 percent worked in three departments: police, fire and City Light. The vast majority were rank-and-file union employees — police officers, firefighters and power-line workers — not management types.

You can trace significant increases in $100,000 employees to recent contracts for those workers.

"I've got to believe that's what happened," said David Bracilano, the city's labor-relations chief, of the link between $100,000 pay and contractual raises for police, fire and City Light workers.

Overall, as the city continues to contend with a dreary economy, it is looking for ways to contain expenses. Total payroll last year, for example, dropped by $38 million.

But even as the belt-tightening occurs and some wages are frozen, the city is paying out for what was negotiated before the recession — salaries that make Seattle more competitive with other jurisdictions.

The police department saw a big jump in six-figure employees in 2008 — from 265 to 684 employees. That year, officers agreed to a new contract hailed by former Mayor Greg Nickels as a "major milestone" for police pay.

Officers received 12 percent raises, including an 8 percent retroactive raise for 2007. A veteran officer at the top pay grade would have made about $80,000 before the new contract, Bracilano said. Add raises provided for in the new contract and some overtime and that officer could well have topped $100,000 in pay.

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