The proposed settlement of a lawsuit over Rhode Island’s 2011 “landmark” pension reform is hovering in a no-man’s land between legislation, judicial review, and contract negotiations.  Even if the settlement is not implemented, eroding the savings, the reform brings the state pension system to only 57% funded, leaving many of us wanting and wondering about all of the hyperbole, both pro and con. It’s a fair guess that most Rhode Islanders have little sense of the numbers behind the headlines.

In the philosophy and under the corresponding banner, “Transparency is Indispensable to Democracy”, the Rhode Island Center for Freedom & Prosperity has assembled some eye-opening databases compiling how tax dollars in Rhode Island are spent. These include “State Payroll” (you can look up by department or position title or – gasp! – employee name); “State Pensions” (look up by original public employer or retiree group or – gasp again! – retiree name); “Municipal Pensions” (ditto); and “State Vendor Payments.”  With the updates, it’s now possible to follow employees’ transition into retirement and predict what they’ll make going forward.

Sorting the State Payroll database by overtime as a percentage of salary (but excluding “other pay”), we learn that 500 state employees boosted their pay by 50-99% of salary with overtime.

Stay tuned for Parts Two and Three, as we detail ever higher percentages of pay boosting via the Joy of Overtime.

Monique Chartier

Monique is a political gadfly, data junkie and contributor to the Ocean State Current and Anchor Rising.  Please consider supporting the terrific work of the Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity here:

https://secure.piryx.com/donate/7rkChZKP/RI-Center-for-Freedom-and-Prosperity/