Who would you think earns more money in the State of New York, an professional engineer or a superintendent of Public Works? And who would pay more money, a small city or a state agency?

1. Comparison of Public Workers Salaries in New York
Some of you might be thinking by now that things are different in smaller cities than Rochester and Buffalo
because a smaller city might have to pay more to attract workers with special skills, licenses or education.
That is SOMETIMES true in some categories of employment, like a city engineer. However, in Public Works,
regardless of city size, many New York municipalities have DPW supervisors, foreman or commissioners
(the title of the head of DPW officers differs from municipality to municipality) that started on the job right
out of high school as laborers in the DPW and worked their way up the civil service system culminating in
getting the job as the boss.
While this allows a person to advance, if they do not get further education, why are they promoted to higher
and higher levels of responsibility? And, do they really have the skill set to manage budgets that are in the
millions of dollars annually even in small cities?
Lastly, do these "on the job" learners have the skill set to think outside the box or think of new ways to do
things, save money or increase productivity. For City of Plattsburgh residents and businesses, think about
that and reflect on how many decades the sidewalks in the city have been unsafe and impassable. This is not
rocket science or advanced calculus, but the prevailing attitude expressed in local media is that it is just too
hard.
Arsene "Mike" Brodi has been on the job working his way up the ladder in the City of Plattsburgh for 38
years (began 1978). Mr. Brodi is the Superintendent of Public Works.
Robert Burnett, a geophysical engineer, has been working for the New York State Department of
Transportation since 1981 or 35 years.
These men have similar years of service working in the public sector, but vastly different skill sets and
education.
You can verify any licensed professional on the New York State Office of the Professions website. You can
find and use the verification tool at this (not a clickable link) web address:
http://www.op.nysed.gov/opsearches.htm
You can verify that Mr. Burnett works for the DOT at this web address (not clickable):
https://www.dot.ny.gov/divisions/engineering/technical-services/technical-services-contacts
Mr. Brodi, as stated in earlier articles, earned $112,317 dollars in 2013 (according to data obtained from the
New York State Office of the Comptroller through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
Mr. Burnett earned $112,431 in 2013 with 32 years of service (at the time) and an engineering degree
(according to data obtained from the New York State Office of the Comptroller through the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA).
For these two men, this is the comparative "apples to apples" in terms of years of service and pay.
For these two men, this is the comparative "apples to oranges" in terms of education, the requirement to
maintain the professional license and registration and in terms of square land miles of responsibility.
Mr. Brodi is responsible for the 5.1 square land miles of the City of Plattsburgh.
Mr. Burnett is responsible for work that encompasses the ENTIRE square miles (land and water) of the State
of New York or 54,555 square miles.

2. The people of the City of Plattsburgh pay $22,463 per square mile to support the employment and work of Mr.
Brodi.
The people of the State of New York pay $2.06 per square mile to support the employment and work of Mr.
Burnett.
Who do you think has the best return on investment?
Would it be the citizens of the City of Plattsburgh or the people of the State of New York?
Would you like to learn more?
Stay tuned....
John Citibois
2016
Sources:
Square Land Miles: Wikipedia
Salaries: Office of the State Comptroller, State of New York
Years of Service: Office of the State Comptroller, State of New York
Engineering Verification: New York State Education Dept., Office of the Professions
Work Positions: City of Plattsburgh website and New York State Dept. of Transportation website.