Does this story sound familiar? You make a phone call to City Hall, wanting only to learn how to register to vote, or who qualifies for the senior citizens property tax exemption, or some other mundane detail. Fifteen minutes and five transfers later, you are very, very mad. “Hey!” you wonder, “why are these people so rude to me when I pay their salaries! I’m a taxpayer, for heaven’s sake–can’t I get my money’s worth?”
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This holiday season you’ll probably have your fair share of upsets at the hands of public employees, what with snow removal, tax payments, and State of the Union/State/City messages. Don’t get mad–get analytical! Use the all-new Pocket Guide to Public Officials’ Salaries to determine how much you personally pay for the services of officials in the public trust. In most cases (exception: see Superintendent of Public Schools) your cost is only pennies a year, so you’ll never feel that you aren’t getting your two cents’ worth again!
- As a moment of high frustration approaches, consult the chart to find the public official who is upsetting you. Determine how much of his or her salary you are paying.
Mayor (Richard Daley) $115,000 4 cents
City Clerk* (Walter Kozubowski) 60,000 2.1 cents
Crossing guard (grade two) 13,915 0.4 cents
