The city of Austin employs more than 16,000 people who manage a slew of city services like parks and libraries, the police and fire departments, and the city’s electric and water utilities that keep the lights on and water pumping in homes across the city.
Many of the city’s top-paid executives work for Austin Energy, the city’s electric utility; Austin-Bergstrom International Airport; or in the city manager’s office. Some have annual base salaries reaching nearly half a million dollars, city records obtained by the American-Statesman through the Texas Public Information Act and other public employment information show.
Here are the 10 highest paid city of Austin officials as of June 26. This list is comparing annual base salaries and excludes any additional compensation a city employee may be receiving as part of their employment contract with the city in the ranking.
Which 10 city of Austin employees have the highest base salaries?
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Bob Kahn, Austin Energy general manager — $475,009.6
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T.C. Broadnax, Austin city manager — $470,017.6. On top of his base salary, Broadnax’s employment agreement with the city includes thousands of dollars in extra compensation, including a cellphone allowance and temporary housing allowance.
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Ghizlane Badawi, airport CEO — $425,006.4
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Shane Harbinson, airport chief development officer —$376,001.6
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Jon Fortune, deputy city manager — $325,000
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Stuart Reilly, Austin Energy deputy general manager of business services — $322,400
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Austin Energy executives Kerry Overton, Lisa Martin and Tammy Cooper each make $317,220.8
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Mark Escott, chief medical officer — $315,078.4
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Assistant City Managers Robert Goode, Veronica Briseño and Stephanie Hayden-Howard each make $298,500.8
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Interim Assistant City Manager Bruce Mills — $298,493.52
Where does city employees’ pay come from?
Most city employees’ pay comes from the general fund, largely supported by property tax and sales tax revenue, which pays for things like the Austin Police Department and the parks department. But officials at the utility departments are paid with revenue generated from utility bills. Likewise, officials at the airport are paid from revenue generated from things like airport fees and contracts.
How much do Austin City Council members make annually?
There are 11 elected officials on the Austin City Council, 10 representing geographic districts across the city and one, the mayor, acting as an at-large official.
More: Austin City Council members give themselves $33,000 pay raise in spite of backlash
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson’s annual salary this fiscal year is $139,568, according to the city salary data obtained by the Statesman. The 10 City Council members representing geographic districts each are slated to make an annual salary of $121,347.2 this year.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Who are the highest-paid city employees in Austin? A look at salaries.
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