EAST HARTFORD – A total of 1,279 state employees earned more than Gov. Dan Malloy in 2011, according to new data posted to CTSunlight.org, the Yankee Institute’s revamped government transparency website.
Gov. Dan Malloy earned $148,563 in 2011. That’s more than twice the median household income of $66,187 in Connecticut from 2009-2010, according to the most recent data available from the U.S. Census Bureau. Yet Gov. Malloy is only the 1,280th highest paid state employee.
7,875 state employees were paid more than $100,000 in 2011, totaling just over $1 billion.
The top ten highest paid state employees in 2011 were all associated with UConn or the UConn Health Center:
| Employee | Position | Agency/Institution |
2011 Pay |
| Calhoun, James A. | Men’s Basketball Head Coach | University of Connecticut |
$2,513,566 |
| Auriemma, Geno | Women’s Basketball Head Coach | University of Connecticut |
$1,768,924 |
| Pasqualoni, Paul L. | Football Head Coach | University of Connecticut |
$1,484,175 |
| Hathaway, Jeffrey | Athletic Director | University of Connecticut |
$881,683 |
| Whalen, James D. | Assoc. Professor, Dermatology & Surgery | University of Connecticut Health Center |
$875,081 |
| Onyiuke, Hilary | Chief, Division of Neurosurgery | University of Connecticut Health Center |
$875,081 |
| Nulsen, John | Lead Physician, Center for Advanced Reproductive Services | University of Connecticut Health Center |
$827,817 |
| Makkar, Hanspaul | Assistant Professor of Dermatology | University of Connecticut Health Center |
$820,607 |
| Laurencin, Cato | Dean, UConn Medical School | University of Connecticut Health Center |
$792,462 |
| Aronow, Michael | Associate Professor of Orthopedic Surgery | University of Connecticut Health Center |
$601,931 |
The unveiling of the 2011 payroll data accompanies the launch of CTSunlight 2.0, a completely revamped version of the Yankee Institute’s CTSunlight website. The updated website gives Connecticut’s citizens easy access to state government’s checkbook, making it even easier to see how citizens’ tax dollars are spent.
“Understanding where the money goes is the first step toward improving fiscal discipline in Hartford,” said Fergus Cullen, Yankee’s Executive Director.
“We don’t begrudge a small number of highly skilled state employees who are highly paid, especially those with medical and science backgrounds” Cullen said. “But having well over 1,000 state employees earning more than the Governor’s salary of $150,000 a year – good money to most families in Connecticut – points to the size and bloat of state government,” Cullen said.
The Yankee Institute first launched the CT Sunlight website in February 2010 to widespread acclaim. Since then, the site has had more than 350,000 visits and 1.3 million page views, with an average visit duration of nearly five minutes.
The new version of CTSunlight.org provides a range of new tools to users, including data visualizations, Top Ten lists, and easier longitudinal comparisons.
