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1,223 Make More Than Malloy

EAST HARTFORD – More than 1,200 state employees earned over $150,000 last year, making each of them better paid than Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy.

Connecticut’s median household income is $69,243, according to the Census Bureau. The governor’s salary, which is set by state statute at $150,000 a year, is more than twice that. Yet Gov. Malloy was only the state’s 1,224th highest paid employee in 2012, according to new data released today by the Yankee Institute.

A total of 7,712 state employees were paid more than $100,000 in 2012. The state paid 66,613 full or part-time employees last year.

“$150,000 or $100,000 a year is considered very good money by most Connecticut families. That well over a thousand state employees earn more than the governor points to the amount of bloat that exists in state government,” said Fergus Cullen, executive director of the Yankee Institute.

The Yankee Institute published the names and salaries of all the state employees who were paid more than the governor here.  The data was obtained from the Office of the State Comptroller in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.

Nearly half of the individuals making more than $150,000 are associated with UConn (290) or the UConn Health Center (301). Of the top ten highest paid state employees in 2012, all were associated with UConn or the UConn Health Center:

Employee Position Agency/Institution

2012 Pay

Calhoun, James A. Men’s Basketball Head Coach UConn

$2,865,769

Auriemma, Geno Women’s Basketball Head Coach UConn

$1,829,052

Pasqualoni, Paul L. Football Head Coach UConn

$1,613,920

Onyiuke, Hilary Chief, Division of Neurosurgery UConn Health Center

$1,030,732

Nulsen, John Director, Center for Advanced Reproductive Services UConn Health Center

$917,373

Makkar, Hanspaul Chief, Division of Pediatric Dermatology UConn Health Center

$916,600

Whalen, James Vice Chair, Dermatology UConn Health Center

$884,602

Laurencin, Cato CEO, Connecticut Institute for Clinical and Translational Science UConn Health Center

$701,576

Herbst, Susan President UConn

$612,500

McFadden, David Chief, Department of Surgery UConn Health Center

$576,923

Manuel, Warde Athletic Director UConn

$551,305

“We aren’t saying the governor is overpaid or underpaid, nor do we begrudge a small number of uniquely skilled state employees who are highly paid, especially those with medical and science backgrounds,” Cullen said. “But the average taxpayer in Connecticut has to look at the list of 1,223 state employees who are paid more than the governor and think, ‘A, there’s a lot of bloat in state government and B, how do I get one of those jobs?’”

Yankee Staff

Yankee Institute is a 501(c)(3) research and citizen education organization that does not accept government funding. Yankee Institute develops and advances free-market, limited-government solutions in Connecticut. As one of America’s oldest state-based think tanks, Yankee is a leading advocate for smart, limited government; fairness for taxpayers; and an open road to opportunity.