State salaries: Delaware paid $2.6B to employees last year. How the data breaks down

Hannah Edelman, Delaware News Journal
Updated 3 min read
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This story was updated to correct the total state income for 2023.

From public school teachers to correctional officers to judges, more than 58,000 people received at least one paycheck from the State of Delaware last year.

The total payout, including overtime and other earnings, was nearly $2.64 billion, according to data requested and analyzed by the News Journal/Delaware Online. State employee wages account for about half of the state's total operating budget.

But who earned the most, and what form did those earnings take?

For 11% of state employees, at least half of their annual earnings came from overtime and other bonuses, with Department of Correction and state police employees earning the most in overtime on average. Not all state employees are eligible for overtime hours.

The top earners of overtime among state employees worked with state police, the Delaware Psychiatric Center and the Department of Correction, according to the data. All but one of the 10 state employees who earned the most in overtime hours received more pay from overtime than from their regular earnings.

The Department of Transportation paid its employees the least on average, though many did not work with the department full-time.

THE DATA: 2023 Delaware government employee salary snapshot

What state agencies paid their employees most on average, including overtime and other earnings?

  1. Department of Education, Office of Equity and Innovation: $139,603

  2. Delaware State Housing Authority: $137,528

  3. Department of Education, Professional Standards Board: $121,146

  4. Delaware State Police, Aviation: $120,450

  5. Delaware State Police, Criminal Investigation: $112,007

  6. Delaware Department of Technology and Information, Chief Information Officer: $107,516

  7. Delaware State Police, Patrol: $106,061

  8. Bryan Allen Stevenson School of Excellence charter school: $102,187

  9. State Board of Education: $101,398

  10. Delaware State Police, Traffic: $99,175

Who received the highest salaries among state employees last year?

  1. Mark Brainard, President of Delaware Technical Community College: $342,774

  2. Gary Collins, Chief Medical Examiner for the Division of Forensic Science: $256,765

  3. Jennifer Swartz, medical examiner with the Division of Forensic Science: $238,613

  4. Jennie Vershvovsky, forensic pathologist with the Division of Forensic Science: $238,613

  5. Gerard Gallucci, Medical Director and Designated Institutional Official for the Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health's residency program: $237,274

  6. Louis Finelli, Division of Forensic Science: $234,958

  7. Sherry Ann Nykiel, Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance: $226,889

  8. Melissa Zebley, Delaware State Police executive staff: $225,453

  9. Collins Seitz Jr., Delaware Supreme Court chief justice: $225,175

  10. Karen Valihura and Gary Traynor, Delaware Supreme Court justices: $215,254 each

Gov. John Carney earned $170,999 last year. He was not eligible for overtime or other earnings.

Who earned the most in overtime last year?

  1. Kennedy Mahiga Muriuki, psychiatric nursing recruitment and training supervisor at Delaware Psychiatric Center: $192,412 ($320,338 total)

  2. Alfred Ndi, registered nurse at Delaware Psychiatric Center: $157,427 ($251,872 total)

  3. Mark Ryde, Delaware State Police criminal investigator: $153,190 ($284,577 total)

  4. David Diana, Delaware State Police criminal investigator: $150,092 ($286,920 total)

  5. Michael Wysock, Delaware State Police patrol officer: $144,281 ($297,665 total)

  6. Ramroop Bahadur, Howard R. Young Correctional Institution: $133,170 ($236,341 total)

  7. Thomas Gaul, Delaware State Police patrol officer: $132,642 ($244,580 total)

  8. Romona Bacchus, registered nurse at Delaware Psychiatric Center: $122,691 ($228,429 total)

  9. Christopher Martin, Delaware State Police patrol officer: $121,958 ($246,398 total)

  10. Melissa Bucknor, registered nurse at Delaware Psychiatric Center: $118,382 ($220,626 total)

Send story tips or ideas to Hannah Edelman at hedelman@delawareonline.com. For more reporting, follow them on Twitter at @h_edelman.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware state employee salary data: what the numbers say

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