County Coroner Dr. Kent Harshbarger said the forensic pathologists at the top of the pay scale have medical degrees, and their pay must be competitive because there is a nationwide shortage of forensic pathologists.
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Harshbarger was paid $91,279 last year. He is designated a “part time” county coroner, and has another job as the full-time chief deputy coroner of the Franklin County Coroner’s Office where he is paid more than $300,000.
The Montgomery County department with more six-figure pay than any other last year is the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office. For many, this was caused by overtime. Only a handful of commanders had base pay over $100,000.
Because forensic pathologists make up most of the top 10, we are listing the top 20 highest paid Montgomery County employees below:
1. Sean Swiatkowski, forensic pathologist: $288,464
2. Susan Brown, Forensic Pathologist: $278,066
3. Kevin Jenkins, chief deputy coroner: $273,066
4. Bryan Casto, forensic fellow: $257,727
5. Lee Lehman, forensic pathologist: $243,839
6. Debra Armanini, assistant county prosecutor: $242,671
7. Mary Goolsby, forensic pathologist: $234,492
8. Daryl Wilson, sheriff’s office chief deputy: $233,213
9. Brian Martin, Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission executive director: $217,450
10. Michael Colbert, Montgomery County administrator: $214,401
11. Pamela Combs, Montgomery County Developmental Disabilities superintendent: $213,207
12. Alice Briones, forensic pathologist: $208,700
13. William Montgomery, Montgomery County Auditor’s Office director of accounting: $203,671
14: Helen Jones-Kelley, ADAMHS Board executive director: $203,414
15. Catherine Evans, chief deputy auditor: $180,701
16. Chris Williams, assistant county administrator: $178,747
17. Geraldine Pegues, assistant county administrator: $178,725
18. Jordan Lee, sheriff’s office deputy (including $90,431 in overtime): $174,838
19. Daniel Brandt, assistant county prosecutor: $173,949
20. Tyler Small, assistant county administrator: $173,881
The employer for government agencies is the voting and taxpaying public. As with any other employer, the public has not just a right but a responsibility to know how much its employees are paid in the interest of good stewardship.
Go here for a searchable database of public employee pay for local gover
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