Police officers and firefighters who can grab overtime and extra duty pay usually top annual municipal wage-earning lists in Connecticut.
But if those public safety positions are taken out of the mix, there’s a clearer picture of what is earned by administrators who run the city of Hartford.
Through a Freedom of Information request, the Courant has compiled a list of the top administrators’ salaries.
The list is led by Library Chief Executive Officer Bridget Quinn and at number two is Mayor Arunan Arulampalam, who is slated to earn nearly $6,000 more this year than his predecessor Mayor Luke Bronin.
Hartford has a unique way of setting the mayor’s pay in a way that removes politics.
An ordinance setting the mayor’s pay at that of a Superior Court judge went into effect after long time debate and failed referendums over the mayor’s low pay in the early 2000s, according to Courant archives.
In 2001 the debate spiked when then Mayor Michael P. Peters, who worked 60 to 70 hours a week made $30,000 per year, less than a city receptionist, Courant archives show. Peters also had the income of a firefighter’s pension from the city.
There was concern at the time that the low rate of pay would discourage qualified candidates.
The current municipal ordinance regarding the mayor’s pay reads:
“The mayor shall be paid an annual salary in an amount equal to the salary, including accumulated cost of living adjustments, of a Judge of the Superior Court of the State of Connecticut, commencing at 12:01 a.m. on January 1, 2024 (“base salary”),” the ordinance says. “Every two (2) years, in accordance with Article XIX of the Constitution of the State of Connecticut, the salary of the Mayor shall be adjusted to reflect any changes in such base salary, at which time said salary may be further adjusted to reflect any changes, as provided in sections 1(a) and 2(k) of Chapter IV of this Charter.”
Under that system former Mayor Luke Bronin earned an annual salary of $189,261. Arulampalam took office Jan. 1, 2024. He was previously executive director of the Hartford Land Bank.
The current salaries of the top 12 administrators for the city of Hartford are as follows:
1. Bridget Quinn, Library Chief Executive Officer, $198,000
2. Mayor Arunan Arulampalam, $195,167
3.Olusegun Ajayi, Chief operating officer, $194,801
4. Gary Draghi, Pension Commission employee, $190,289
5. Carmen Sierra, City Treasurer, $189,166
6. Jonathan Harding, Corporation Counsel, $169,999
7. Leigh Ann Ralls, Chief Financial Officer, $167,999
8. Marlene Fleeting, Director of Human Resources & Labor Relations, $ 162,335
9. Rodney Barco, Fire Chief, $162,335
10. Jason Thody, Police Chief, $162,334
11. Nicole Plessy-Cloud, Pension Commission employee, $161,000
12. Mary Tzambazakis, Library Chief Administrative Officer, $159,440
