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In the money
In addition to their salaries, the Chesterfield County government also budgets another $3,840 annually for individuals for medical and dental benefits and $7,020 for family coverage and pays 16.65 percent for retirement and life insurance into the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) and a matching 7.65 percent for FICA. Chesterfield County Public Schools (CCPS) pays an additional 16.46 percent into VRS for retirement for all professional employees and 13.81 percent for non-professional employees. Individual coverage for medical and dental benefits annually is $3,888 and $7,020 for family coverage. CCPS also contributes another 1 percent for life insurance plus a matching 7.65 percent payable for FICA. The entry level pay for a teacher with a bachelor's degree and no experience on a regular contract is $37,232. It's $39,094 for those starting with a master's degree. The highest paid teacher in the county school system with a doctorate degree and 30 or more years of experience is $65,197. Chesterfield collects salary information to determine the pay scale from the counties of Henrico and Prince William and the cities of Richmond, Virginia Beach, Hampton, Newport News and Chesapeake. It does not compare salaries with the private sector, which are typically higher for upper management. "We try to be 95 percent of the market [for comparable local governments], but we've fallen below that," said Scott Zaremba, assistant director of human resources for Chesterfield. "We're 5-10 percent below the public sector, and being next door to Henrico - the market leader - puts the most pressure on us for salaries." That's most apparent for new County Administrator Jay Stegmier, who earns almost $25,000 less than his counterpart in Henrico - even though Chesterfield has slightly more population and is growing faster. Including salary, deferred compensation and car allowance, Stegmaier is paid $214,100 annually. Last year, this newspaper reported that former County Administrator Lane Ramsey, who served 20 years in the position, was paid $233,288. Stegmaier took over the job in mid- August. Stegmaier also is paid 18 percent less than Superintendent Marcus Newsome's $252,180, who took over Chesterfield's schools on Oct. 1, 2006. Henrico's superintendent makes $217,678, but he also oversees a school system with 10,000 fewer students than Newsome. Though the titles may be the same, the duties of those jobs probably vary. Another factor in compensation is longevity. Historically, Chesterfield has fewer people in the county government per capita compared to Henrico. Chesterfield's school system has more employees because it has more students. Since Chesterfield is twice the size of Henrico, there are also greater demands on government services such as police, fire and EMS. Chesterfield's deputy county administrators make slightly more than Henrico, but Henrico has five deputies compared to Chesterfield's three. County Attorney Steve Micas and Commonwealth's Attorney Billy Davenport slightly out earn their Henrico counterparts. Chesterfield's police chief (new to the job) earns less than Henrico's, but Chesterfield's fire chief makes 27 percent more than Henrico's. Chesterfield's sheriff also out earns his Henrico counterpart. The Chesterfield Observer has compiled an annual list of salaries over $75,000 for county and CCPS employees since 1999. The newspaper arbitrarily set the limit at $75,000. To see the list of county and CCPS employees who earn over $75,000, go to www.chester fieldobserver.com and click on "county pay" on the homepage. The names, positions and compensation for highly paid Henrico government and school employees are also listed. Compensation of county school systems*
Compensation of county governments *
Top 10 salaries for Chesterfield County
Top 10 salaries for Chesterfield County Public Schools
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