A proposal from last year would raise top Milwaukee city officials’ annual salaries — so, what do officials like the mayor, Common Council members and top appointees make each year?
According to 2022 city salary data, many were near the top in hourly pay — though when employees’ overtime was figured in, elected and appointed officials fell farther down the list of the highest-paid at the City of Milwaukee.
A spokesman for Mayor Cavalier Johnson noted when the proposal surfaced in October that the effort to raise top officials’ pay was coming after “literally thousands of rank-and-file employees have had their pay rates modified to conform with the current labor market.”
Here’s how much Milwaukee’s top elected leaders, cabinet officials and police and fire chiefs currently make, according to the city’s Department of Employee Relations:
What is the Milwaukee’s mayor’s salary?
The mayor’s annual base salary is $147,335.76 — the highest of any elected city official but also just cents higher than the city attorney.
What are the salaries of Milwaukee elected officials besides the mayor?
- City Attorney: $147,335.50
- Treasurer: $114,040
- Comptroller: $125,608
- Municipal judges: $133,049
- Common Council president: $82,749
- Common Council member: $73,222 (Council members also have a vehicle allowance plus mileage reimbursement for city business, according to the Department of Employee Relations.)
What are the salaries of the Milwaukee police chief and fire chief?
Milwaukee’s police and fire chiefs currently make between $115,161 and $161,221.
What are the salaries of the Milwaukee mayor’s cabinet officials?
State statute determines the positions in the Milwaukee mayor’s cabinet. Their salaries are set in city ordinance.
- Retirement board executive director: $184,565 to $258,381
- Health commissioner: $122,746 to $171,838
- Department of Public Works commissioner: $122,746 to $171,838
- Department of Administration director: $115,161 to $161,221
- City engineer: $115,161 to $161,221
- City assessor: $115,161 to $161,221
- Department of Neighborhood Services commissioner: $115,161 to $161,221
- Department of City Development commissioner: $115,161 to $161,221
- Department of Employee Relations director: $115,161 to $161,221
- Budget director: $108,037 to $151,255
- Chief information officer: $108,037 to $151,255
- Fire and Police Commission executive director: $108,037 to $151,255
- Intergovernmental Relations Division director: $108,037 to $151,255
- City librarian: $108,037 to $151,255
- Municipal port director: $108,037 to $151,255
- Emergency management director: $83,692 – $117,177
- Community Development Grants Administration director: $95,097 to $133,131
- Purchasing director: $95,097 to $133,131
- Employee benefits director: $95,097 to $133,131
- Election Commission executive director: $95,097 to $133,131
- City labor negotiator: $95,097 to $133,131
Look up salaries for City of Milwaukee employees
The Journal Sentinel has a database that allows you to search for compensation data of over 12,000 employees over the course of four years, from 2019 to 2022.
Alison Dirr can be reached at adirr@jrn.com.
