Among local bureaucrats, six-figure salaries aren't unusual; Hazelett tops list
August 6, 2006
Nearly 200 local bureaucrats now pull down six-figure salaries, but officials say that's what it takes to be competitive in the metro Richmond job market.
And that's why they say the average government paycheck in the area's two biggest counties -- Chesterfield and Henrico ran $2,000 to $3,000 a year more than the metro area average for all employers, public and private.
A Times-Dispatch review of local government payrolls, obtained through the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, found:
Henrico's budget for the fiscal year that began July 1 has 64 officials earning $100,000 or more annually. County Manager Virgil R. Hazelett is the highest-paid metro area official with a yearly salary of $228,559.
Chesterfield, the metro region's most populous locality, has 52 employees earning six-figure salaries. County Administrator Lane B. Ramsey makes $219,668.
The City of Richmond has 48 officials earning at least $100,000. Mayor L. Douglas Wilder, the only elected chief executive in the area, earns $125,000. The city's chief administrative officer, William E. Harrell, makes $132,912.
Hanover County has 28 employees earning $100,000 or more. County Administrator Cecil R. "Rhu" Harris earns $172,500.
In contrast, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine earns $175,000 a year.
But local government executives' salaries can be hundreds of thousands of dollars less than the top pay at private-sector companies with similar payrolls.
Richmond-based Tredegar Corp., which makes plastic film, employs about 400 fewer people than Henrico and has revenue 5.5 percent higher than the county's. It paid its now-retired chief executive $437,000 last year.
On the other hand, the Virginia Employment Commission reports the average salary for chief executives of all businesses in the Richmond metropolitan area was just under $139,000 last year.
The Times-Dispatch review also found:
Henrico's average salary was 7.1 percent above the $41,236 metro-area average for all employment last year.
Chesterfield's was 4.4 percent higher.
Richmond's was 0.7 percent higher.
Hanover's was 1.8 percent lower.
Traditionally, government jobs pay less than the private sector, attracting people because of job-security provisions in civil-service rules.
Statewide, local government pay lags behind average pay for the public and private sectors, Virginia Employment Commission economist William Mezger said.
"Across all three levels of government, you tend to have more professionals than the state average, but in local government there are a lot of maintenance workers and street crews, people working with the shovel," Mezger said. The first group tends to make the average rise, the second to make it fall, he said.
In Henrico, Richard W. Glover, chairman of the Henrico Board of Supervisors, says paying top dollar is one way to attract top talent.
"I've always been very comfortable with it," Glover said of the county's salary structure. "I'm very proud of our employees and the work ethics and the work commitments that they make. They are very much in tune with our constituents and, really, our customers."
George H. Cauble Jr., Henrico's human-resources director, said the county's approach of paying a little more to attract good employees can save money in the long run by cutting turnover. For the past 19 years, the annual percentage of Henrico employees leaving their jobs has been in the single digits.
"We feel like we're pretty competitive. My goal is to be the pay leader in the region for attraction and retention purposes," Cauble said. "It costs a lot of money when you have high turnover -- to bring someone else in and train them to the level that you need them."
Hazelett's salary, Cauble said, is "a function of his longevity."
Hazelett started his career with Henrico in 1972 as a traffic engineer. He advanced through the Public Works Department and became its director before he was made deputy county manager for community development in 1989. He became deputy county manager for administration and chief of staff in 1991, and he was named county manager in 1992.
Mirroring the statements of Henrico's Glover, Chesterfield Board of Supervisors Chairman R.M. "Dickie" King Jr. says offering competitive salaries makes sense.
"My personal view is, if you're not competitive, you have problems. You have expectations -- if people meet these expectations, they should be paid comparable salaries for comparable jobs throughout the region."
Glover and King said they are comfortable paying their top executives more than $200,000 annually.
"I think Virgil does an outstanding job," Glover said of Hazelett. "I think he's worth every penny."
"I wouldn't have his job for the amount of money he's working for," King said of Ramsey.
Hanover, which trails Chesterfield, Henrico and Richmond in population, is catching up in government employee compensation.
"Employees are the best asset we have," said Hanover Supervisor J.T. "Jack" Ward. "We hire someone, we train them and we want them to stay."
Mayor L. Douglas Wilder's press secretary, Linwood Norman, who makes $90,000 a year, did not respond to five requests from The Times-Dispatch for comment from him or the mayor on city salaries.
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