Comparing cities in New York can be pretty sobering if you live in a small city and, by comparison, pay much, much more for Public Works type services than a larger city.

1. Plattsburgh versus Rochester: The Department of Public Works (DPW)
In the City of Rochester,NY much like the City of Buffalo,NY; the head ofPublic Works has
more employees,a bigger budgetto manage,more square land miles in his city and a bigger
population ofcitizens....buthe stillmakes less money than Arsene "Mike"Brodi,the DPW
Superintendentfor the City ofPlattsburgh,NY.
MeetNorman H. Jones, a long time employee ofthe City of Rochester, who was director ofthe Bureau ofOperations
and Parks before he was appointed Commissioner ofEnvironmental Services.
The City ofRochester website has this to say about the Department of Environmental Services:
"DES is a departmentfor all seasons which collects refuse, recyclables,loose leaves, constructbuildings, bridges
and roads, clean and repairs our streets, maintains our water system, parks and cemeteries, provides snow and ice
control, mows and beautifies gateways, open spaces and vacantlots, plants and trims trees, and much more."
So, now that we have established that the job description of Norman H. Jones is very much like the
job of Arsene "Mike" Brodi,the DPW Superintendentfor the City of Plattsburgh, let's talk money.
Norman H. Jones began working forthe City of Rochesterin 1985 (Mike Brodi began working for the
city of Plattsburgh in 1978).His annualsalary in 2013 (according to the Office of the State
Comptroller) was $99,941.Let's recap: Arsene "Mike" Brodiwas paid $112,317 in 2013.
Jones Responsibilities Brodi Responsibilities
35.8 square land miles 5.1 square land miles
210,512 population 19.898 population
Per square mile,citizens in Rochester pay (roundedout) $2,792 to pay Mr.Jones.
Per square mile,citizens in Plattsburgh (city)pay $22,463(rounded out)to pay Mr. Brodi.
Instead of a labor head counts,this time, I'm going to discuss the salaries of the people that assist
Mr. Jones and Mr. Brodi.
Mr. Jones has a Bureau of Operations Director to assisthim in caring for the City of Rochester.
Karen St. Aubin,the Bureau of Operations Director, has worked for the City of Rochestersince
1990 and earns $93,517 (2013).
Mr. Brodi recently acquired an assistant, Mike Bessette.Mr. Bessette was appointed in 2014 ata
pay rate of $87,420.
Per square land mile, citizens of Rochesterpay (rounded out) Jones &St. Aubin $5,404.
(The Math: Rochester; $99,941 + $93,517 = $193,458 ÷35.8 (sq. land miles) = 5,404 per square land mile)
Per square land mile, citizens of Plattsburgh pay (rounded out)Brodi & Bessette $39,164
(The Math: Plattsburgh; $112,317 + $87,420 = $199,737 ÷ 5.1 (sq. land miles) = 39,164 per square land mile)

2. Excerpt from the City of Plattsburgh Common Council Meeting Minutes of 12/18/2014 (the meeting minutes of
the Common Council are available on the city website and are organized by date).
Maybe the streets ofsome parts ofAmerica are pavedin gold....for the municipalemployees!
So, the question ofthe day mightbe,why are employees thatare responsible for so much
less land,employees and citizenstending to make so muchmore in the City of Plattsburgh
than comparable employees in other cities in New York?
Stay tuned....
John Citibois
2016
Sources:
US Census Bureau
City of Rochester website and press releases
Wikipedia (squareland mile references)
City of Plattsburgh website
Office ofthe State Comptroller: The wage information, for the 12-month period ending in March 2013 is
public record and was obtained from the state comptroller's office through a requestunder the Freedom of
Information Law.