(The following appeared on the Asbury Park Press website on March 8, 2010.)
ASBURY PARK, N.J. — New Jersey Transit’s payroll rose more than $154 million from 2006 to 2009, when the agency paid a total of $804 million in salaries and wages.
The payroll increase was up 24 percent between those years, about three times the rate of inflation. The consumer price index for New York-northern New Jersey rose just 7.3 percent from 2006 to the end of 2009.
The complete list of salaries and wages can be found at www.DataUniverse.com, the Asbury Park Press’ interactive public records site. Look under “What’s New” for the link.
Other payroll facts regarding 2006 and 2009, as obtained by the Press from public records:
— Total overtime costs rose 22 percent, from $97.4 million to $118.5 million;
— The total payroll rose 24 percent, from $646.4 million to 804.3 million;
— The number of employees rose 14 percent, from 11,247 to 12,809;
— The average total pay for all employees, including overtime, rose 9 percent, from $57,474 to $62,794.
One of the few dips in the payroll was seen in the top executive’s pay. Former NJ Transit Executive Director George Warrington was paid $288,915 in 2006. His successor, Richard R. Sarles, was paid $261,324 last year.