(Source: MIRS.news, Published 02/05/2024) Gov. Gretchen Whitmer makes $159,300 per year and 262 state employees make more, along with 16 of the 19 department heads. Many department directors make even more than their boss, according to records obtained by MIRS through the Freedom of Information Act.
Four of the top five paid state government employees are in the Bureau of Investment, which are housed in the Department of Treasury in salaried positions, make more than Treasurer Rachael Eubanks, who makes $202,894. The highest paid employee in the state makes $535,197.
This was also true of the government structure 10 years ago when MIRS last looked at state employee salaries.
Eubanks is not the highest-paid cabinet member. That distinction goes to State Superintendent Michael Rice, who gets $251,661 and is among the top 10 highest paid state employees. Several other employees in the Department of Education, including Deputy State Superintendent Delsa Chapman and Chief Deputy Superintendent Sue Carnell, also made the list for making more money than the Governor.
Michigan National Guard Maj. Gen. Paul Rogers makes the next highest of the cabinet at $221,739. Brian Love and Anne Zerbe are also among those in the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs also make more than the governor.
The Department of Civil Service has the next highest before Eubanks, with John Gnodtke pulling down $204,599. Deputy Director Jonathan Patterson also comes in above the $200,000 mark.
Attorney General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson each make $112,410, but in Nessel’s case the highest paid employee in her office, Fadwa Hammoud, more than doubles her salary at $229,000 and puts her in the top 10 highest employees paid in the state, albeit at number 10.
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Elizabeth Hertel comes in with $198,916, right before the bulk of the department heads who make $193,233 in salary. The Department also contains one of the only top five salaries outside the Bureau of Investments, with State Hospitals Administration Deputy Director George Mellos sitting at $387,263.
Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Director Tim Boring (Director - ); Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy Director Phil Roos; Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity Director Susan Corbin; Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs Director Marlon I. Brown; Department of Natural Resources Director M. Scott Bowen; Department of Transportation Director Brad Wieferich; Department of Insurance and Financial Services Director Anita G. Fox; and Department of Technology, Management and Budget Director Michelle Lange all make $193,233 each.
The Department of Civil Rights Director John Johnson Jr. is the last department head to make more than Whitmer at $171,400.
Department of Corrections Director Heidi E. Washington and Michigan State Police Col. James F. Grady II did not show up on the list provided to MIRS during a FOIA.
No one in the Department of State made more than Whitmer. According to the Council of State Governments, Michigan's governor is the 19th-best paid governor among the 50 states with a salary that is a little above average.
