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Talk about playing the system to win -- catch how a bunch of Detroit People Mover support staffers got big paydays last year.
An electronic technician and two maintenance supervisors pulled down higher paychecks than their boss, general manager Barbara Hansen, who earned $119,565.
Overtime and payouts for unused leave days boost earnings for 11 workers who surpassed $100,000 in 2017.
That eye-opener comes from Michigan Capitol Confidential, a news site run by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a Midland research center. Managing editor Tom Gantert posts:
The figures came in response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed with the city agency that operates the People Mover, but the information sent did not include names. . . .
The highest-paid employee of the Detroit People Mover monorail train last year . . . was a maintenance employee who had a base salary of $57,220 but ended up collecting $174,602 in total. The employee had the job title of electronic technician II.
The general manager of Detroit People Mover earned $119,565.
Two others also received more than the system manager, payroll documents from the Detroit Transportation Corporation show :
- Three maintenance shift supervisors, with base annual salaries of $61,131, got $105,456, $135,395 and $161,368.
- Four people with the job title of mechanical technician I (base salary of $46,404) made $111,182, $105,109, $95,154 and $94,322.
Two control operators ($53,144 base) finished 2017 with six-figure salaries -- $102,729 and $100,962.
Overtime and unused leave payouts boosted the earnings, Ericka Alexander of the operating agency tells Gantert.
Overall, 11 of the 86 People Mover employees got more than $100,000 from the city in 2017.
People Mover spending last year ($25.4 million) was 16 times more than it collected from 75-cent fares, the Midland policy center notes. City, state and federal grants support the 2.9-mile downtown monorail, built in .
