Top 100 earners in RI state government: See who tops the list and why

2022 was a year of new faces on the University of Rhode Island campus and in the ranks of Rhode Island's highest-paid state employees.

Despite joining the state's payroll midyear, new URI men's basketball coach Ryan "Archie" Miller made more in eight months – $794,615 – than any other state employee all year, according to a list of the top-100 state government earners provided by the Department of Administration.

With the five-year $8.5 million contract he signed in March, Miller's annual pay next year of around $1.4 million will easily dwarf other Rhode Island public-sector worker compensation, assuming he gets a full season under his belt.

For context, Miller's annual compensation is about twice as high as that of previous URI basketball coach David Cox.

And it is nearly 10 times higher than the $145,754 Gov. Dan McKee is taking home this year.

More:100 Rhode Island state employees who earned the most in 2022: Searchable database

Overall, 159 state employees had made $200,000 or more with one pay period to go before the end of the year. Department of Administration spokeswoman Laura Hart said when the final numbers come in after Jan. 1, a few more could break the $200,000 mark.

Rhode Island women's basketball coach makes the top paid state employees

Seeing the URI men's basketball coach at the top of state employee compensation is nothing new. Before Miller and Cox, former coach Danny Hurley led the list before leaving for the University of Connecticut, where he makes $2.75 million per year.

What is new is seeing the URI women's basketball coach fourth on the highest-paid list.

Thanks to a 10-year extension she signed shortly after the university hired Miller this spring, URI women's basketball coach Tammi Reiss has made $380,653 in total compensation this year. Reiss didn't make the top 10 last year.

Second on the best-paid list is URI President Marc Parlange, who started his first full year leading Rhode Island's flagship public university this fall. He had made $480,769 as of Wednesday, but that's less than his predecessor and long-time president David Dooley's compensation, which was more than $500,000.

URI leadership all high on state's highest-paid list

Of the top 100 top-earning state employees this year, six work at URI; of the top 25 earners, 15 work at the school. That's up slightly from 2019, when 13 of the top 25 state employee earners were at URI.

The others in the top dozen were Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Don DeHayes ($345,291), Athletic Director Thorr Bjorn ($334,107), Vice President for Research and Economic Development Peter Snyder ($331,442), football coach James Fleming ($298,836) and Professor of Supply Chain Maling Ebrahimpour ($297,760).

"The competition to recruit and retain talented faculty, administrators, athletics staff and others in a global marketplace is intense," URI spokeswoman Dawn Bergantino said in an email explaining why the school dominates the highest-paid list.

"Nationwide, it is extremely common for basketball or football coaches at Division I institutions to be a state’s highest paid employee," she said. "Coach Miller’s salary includes his base salary, fees for his appearance and participation in athletic events and functions, a portion of gate receipts for home games, and other categories of pay. This is in line with the salaries of other Atlantic 10 coaches."

2022 Men's Basketball Head CoachesSearchable salary database by USA Today

2022 Women's Basketball Head CoachesSearchable salary database by USA Today

She added that Reiss has improved the women's program and other colleges have tried to lure her to their campuses.

The non-URI employees at the top of the state-pay list aren't McKee administration cabinet members, but doctors in the state hospital system and correctional officers who make substantial amounts of overtime.

Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities & Hospitals staff high on the salary list as are law enforcement officers

The third highest-paid state employee this year was Purvi Chokshi, a physician with the state Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities & Hospitals. Chokshi made $450,603 so far this year, $207,594 of it in overtime.

That may sound like a lot of overtime, but it is the second-highest overtime total in the state this year behind correctional officer Mark Wilbur, who made $312,750 this year on $72,809 in base pay, $229,412 in overtime and $10,527 in "other compensation."

Wilbur, who has worked for the state since 2002, is the undisputed overtime king of the Adult Correctional Institutions and has made more than $190,000 in overtime since 2018.

For years, Rhode Island has relied on overtime to keep the ACI staffed at all hours of the day, either because it is cheaper than hiring multiple new officers with full salary and benefits, or because the job fails to attract enough new recruits.

Rhode Island is one of the few states that allow officers to work "quads," four consecutive shifts.

All told, 16 correctional officers made the top 100 employees list, and all made more than $100,000 in overtime.

The top 100 included 18 employees in the Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities & Hospitals and 20 members of the judiciary.

The list does not include employees of public authorities and quasi-state agencies.

If it did, Rhode Island Airport Corporation CEO Iftikhar Ahmad would be second at $603,116 in total compensation. Ahmad made $140,757 in performance bonuses and other compensation on top of his $462,359 salary, Airport Corporation spokesman John Goodman said.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI state government top earners: Who has the highest salary, most OT