Overtime is a major factor in bus drivers’ pay, with 12 earning more than $30,000 in overtime pay in 2023.
It is also a major factor for the pay of service repair employees, some of whom doubled their pay with overtime. Of the six who made over $100,000 in 2023, overtime ranged from over $30,000 to over $60,000.
The agency’s five highest-paid employees are executives whose pay does not include overtime.
The voting and taxpaying public is the employer for government agencies. As with any other employer, the public has not just a right but a responsibility to know how much its employees are paid in the interest of good stewardship.
Go here for a searchable database of state and local government pay across our region.
The RTA proposed raising their bus fares earlier this year as they say revenue is not keeping up with costs. Opponents of this proposal say fare increases would hurt those who rely on public transport to get where they need to go.
The Dayton Daily News reached out to RTA officials with questions about how they are working to control labor costs, but they did not respond.
The highest paid RTA employees in 2023 were:
1. Robert Ruzinsky, chief executive officer: $268,924
2. Brandon Policicchio, chief customer and business development officer: $194,206
3. James Brown, chief maintenance officer: $185,937
4. Mary Stanforth, chief financial officer: $183,613
5. Roland Caldwell, chief transportation officer: $180,913
6. Steven Haught, traditional fixed route bus operator: $140,252
7. Timothy Harrington, IT director: $139,972
8. Brenda Thomas, director of human resources: $136,560
9. Jeremy Madison, service repair: $133,572
10. Ryan McClellan, service repair: $132,691
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