In the year of the coronavirus when thousands of Michigan residents lost their jobs or suffered a cut in pay, the city of Jackson paid its fire department employees large increases.
The average gross pay of the employees of the city of Jackson Fire Department increased by 24% on average in 2020. That's according to salary data provided by the city of Jackson in a Freedom of Information Act request.
There were 21 full-time employees of the fire department who received salaries in 2019 and 2020. The average salary of those 21 employees increased from $75,953 to $94,072.
Just two fire department employee saw a reduction in pay from 2019 to 2020. The two fire department employees who made less in 2020 than the previous year are no longer listed on the staff directory for the fire department on the city of Jackson website.
Public safety department salaries are heavily influenced by overtime. But it is unusual that the vast majority of full-time employees see such large increases in the same year.
The salaries listed here are gross wages, which include all forms of compensation, such as overtime.
| JACKSON FIRE DEPARTMENT | TITLE | 2019 PAY | 2020 PAY |
| David Wooden | Deputy Director | $122,617 | $130,363 |
| Robert Walkowicz | Fire Captain | $99,431 | $126,285 |
| Todd Weaver | Fire Captain | $96,279 | $128,470 |
| Jason Senft | Fire Captain | $95,207 | $119,066 |
| Christopher Ermatinger | Assistant Fire Chief | $93,849 | $102,034 |
| Timothy Gonzales | Motor Driver | $91,428 | $119,337 |
| Chad Everett | Motor Driver | $91,234 | $123,167 |
| Joe William Smith | Motor Driver | $89,454 | $117,053 |
| Craig Reppert | Motor Driver | $89,289 | $116,078 |
| Joel Skrypec | Motor Driver | $88,141 | $114,146 |
| Richard Terrell | Motor Driver | $83,213 | $104,574 |
| Frank Huntley | Firefighter | $82,515 | $100,664 |
| Joshua Gonzalez | Firefighter | $77,355 | $97,298 |
| Richard Lutton | Firefighter | $60,074 | $83,032 |
| Ryan Hendricks | Firefighter | $59,432 | $82,337 |
| Michael Stock | Firefighter | $58,883 | $76,786 |
| Shane Green | Firefighter | $52,849 | $67,813 |
| Annie Wallen | Firefighter | $39,405 | $59,072 |
| William Drake | Firefighter | $15,536 | $36,713 |
