September 29, 2010

City Salaries: Public Works, utility managers Racine's highest paid employees

Public Works Director Rick Jones was the city's highest paid employee in 2009, according to city data.

Jones made $127,974.92 last year, about $14,000 more than the second highest employee, Keith Haas, who manages the city's water and wastewater plants. City Attorney Rob Weber was third at $113,326.48 and Police Chief Kurt Wahlen ($113,059.15) and Fire Chief Steven Hansen ($111,573.56) round out the Top 5.

A total of 605 city employees made more than $50,000 in 2009, according to data acquired through an open records request. Below is a spreadsheet of every city employee who made more than $50,000 last year.






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83 comments:

  1. I'm not so concerned about Jones's salary, but why would we ever pay a stock room clerk $50,000?

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  2. You have to provide incentive for quality talent and I'm all about compensating quality employees, but all City employees should have to live in the city of Racine. A lot of the paychecks are being spent in other municipalities. More money spent here = more jobs. Where is Racine's middle class?

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  3. What is the purpose of this story? Dude, ur tryin 2 hard.

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  4. I think the point is that these people are making big money while the people paying for the salaries are losing their jobs and homes. I am stunned to see people making over $100,000 are getting overtime too. I think this adds to the public impression that city staff are out of touch with the public needs.

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  5. There is no logical reason a stock room clerk should be making $50,000 per year, plus benefits that are worth $30,000 per year. We're spending $80k every year on a stock room clerk. Does the stock room clerk also have a pension plan for life? The average salary for a stock room clerk in the private sector in Milwaukee is $30,000. Why is there a need to provide so much over the average salary to attract good workers to public jobs? That argument has become ridiculous.

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  6. at least these jobs can't be shipped overseas.

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  7. 50 grand for a stock room clerk!!! I am working in the wrong office for sure!

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  8. The street sweeper makes $57,000 plus benefits. Holy cow.

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  9. Can someone explain why these police officers need to work off duty if they are making $55k plus a year? Greedy just greedy..!

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  10. Hop aboard the gravy train. Don't forget the benefits!

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  11. I see an easy way to save big bucks.
    Fire Brian O'Connell to start

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  12. CRAZY Stupid waste of money. Anyone else notice that 95% of these employees are MEN? Just a handful of women. Shame.

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  13. You can thank Unions for the fact that so many low-level jobs are so high-paying.

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  14. And none of them can be laid off or fired?

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  15. Take a look at the 10 year plan.

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  16. Where are you Dickert? You loser! By the way Friedel's salary dosen't look acurate.

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  17. Allan Edmunds is missing also, plus with all the spelling errors I doubt if this list is accurate.
    What is a "AREAGHTER"??

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  18. Yes, I'd like to know what the 'FIRE UBJTENANT' does - it sounds fun!

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  19. Our tax dollars at work...

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  20. Until Racine ceases to be a poverty pit for most of its residents, no city employee should receive more than the lowest-paid full-time private-sector wage slave.

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  21. BATTALION CHIEFs get paid overtime?

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  22. Anyone notice Damen Lowe made over $64000 last year while he sat home on house arrest and was then convicted of sexual abuse of a child? Shouldn't he be paying that money back to the city?

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  23. I was recently at the park by the fish hatchery and observed 3 city trucks with 6 city employees planting wild flowers/prairie grass in a newly dug plat. The city is going to plant 2 more plats of the same. At the rate they are being paid and the cost of all those plants I figure it cost taxpayers about $150,000. All they had to do is buy $50 of wild flower seeds and have 1 person scatter them. How do spending projects like this get approved in a bad economy?

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  24. Do you people realize that the Commissioner of Public Works and his two assistants make over 300,000.00 a year!!!!!!?? Are you kidding me? Over a quarter million dollars for 3 people doing the same job? All for our great streets! Unbelivable! Also, take a look at the park and rec peoples salaries. Shocking!

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  25. Are those the true salaries or is that the total the City pays for each person with insurance benefits - salary plus benefit costs???

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  26. How can those in city hall justify these costs?

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  27. Why dosen't the Post do the same public service by posting what we pay Racine County employees ... from the top downn. There are plenty of College graduates that could fill many of those positions with modern education with at a less compensation, I'm sure. Afterall, that's what we would expect of those positions. Good luck trying to get those salaries, as we all know they have been kept secret.

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  28. Anon 8:59
    A deputy makes a lot less than a city police officer with all their pay freezes. A cop with less than 2 years experience makes over $65000. WOW!

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  29. I think some of these people should actually get raises for some of the hard work that it takes to run this city!!

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  30. Dispatchers making $30,000.00 in Overtime???

    OK Post, now that you've uncovered this, are you going to investigate the ridiculous OT payouts for "Communication Specialists".

    They weren't kidding when they said Joint Dispatch will be cheaper.....WOW!

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  31. How about doing the same story focused on RUSD?

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  32. 89K for a Librarian? Seriously? Dustin, why not post the salaries for the RUSD employees?

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  33. Racine Post is nothing more than tabloid journalism. You need to present all the facts when you put anything in print. That is called responsible journalism.

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  34. Does anyone know how these salaries compare with other municipalities the size of Racine?

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  35. If you look at the list overall, the librarians make the least of any city department, and are the most visible face of the City. Give them a break (and more money).

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  36. Please research another column: municipality of residence. See how many of these highly paid employees live in the City of Racine and pay their property tax, do their shopping etc. in the City.

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  37. I do not believe that these figures include benefits. It would be interesting to see how many more are making over $50k when you add their benefit package.

    Does anyone know the City's total number of employees?

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  38. C'mon Anon 7:57 AM, I agree with the residency issue, but how in the hell are they going to track where every city employee shops.....That's just stupid.

    Do you only shop in the city of Racine??

    Have you never spent a penny elsewhere??

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  39. Someone better investigate how and more importantly why dispatchers are making 30K a year in overtime.

    Sounds like a TERRIBLY mis-managed city.

    Mayor Dickert, any response to this???

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  40. I love how the Dickert cronies, posting on taxpayer dime, are criticizing the Post for posting salaries, with no commentary.

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  41. Why don't we add up the salaries of Dickert, Freidel, Eickhorst (By the way Dustin, please verify Freidel's salary because it's wrong) Then we can realize that we are paying close to a quarter million to poorly manage this city. Racine residents should be steaming mad!

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  42. Mark - do you care to provide the facts? Please give me justification for clerks making over $50,000 plus benefits.

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  43. Mark

    Please quit drinking

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  44. 9:22 -- These are salaries paid in 2009. Friedel was not the administrator for the whole year in 2009, so his listed salary is for a partial year.

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  45. Mark, how is this tabloid journalism? This is public information. The Kenosha News has a permanent link on their website to all city and county employee salaries, including publicly funded schools (KUSD, Gateway, etc.). The Journal Times or Post should do the same, in my opinion. Taxpayers have a right to know how their money is being spent. This is basic stuff.

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  46. I don't think that one police office or fire fighter is over paid. They all have put their lives on the line for us and we should all thank them. Not only that, but a police office is not a 8/hr 5 day/week job. They are basically on duty 24/7.

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  47. Excuse me, but police officers get paid for any off duty or overtime work they do. This is unlike the rest of us in the private sector who are salaried, work "overtime" every single week, are on-call 24/7, and don't get paid anything extra for it. Milwaukee police officers have to show up 12 minutes before their shift starts for roll call, and they get paid one hour of overtime for this. Every time they do it. Ridiculous.

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  48. How about maintenence guys making 60K?!? Totally unbelievable

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  49. You people amaze the hell outta me! wow...

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  50. 2:51 - You must be a city stock room clerk!

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  51. For the amount of micromanagement the dispatchers deal with, they earn what they make. And their overtime isn't easy, usually it's mandatory. The management of the dispatch center is completely out of whack. Start there, not with the communication specialists who put in their day's work. And keep in mind some of them have been there 20+ years. Of course they're getting compensated! Would you stay at a job 20 years with no raises?

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  52. How do I get a job with the City?

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  53. The average private sector worker hasn't seen a raise in over 10 years.

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  54. Just seems WAY excessive, with no one from the city doing any justifiying. And yes, they should justify these expeditures as it is OUR money, thats why this info is provided in the first place.

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  55. Well you can eliminate bill bielefeldts salary from the list. just hope the kids getting lead poisoned dont add up to more than his pay.
    maybe the project co-ordinators will cover that cost for the city due to thier "gross negligence".

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  56. I agree. These salaries should be looked into. Are we getting our money out of these people. I am referring to the people at the top. The library pays their director almost 90k and a department supervisor 75 k. Looks like they could afford to cut a couple department supervisors and open the library again on Sundays.

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  57. How much do you make Justin?

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  58. None of these slaraies include their ridiculous benefit plans. They all receive the Wisconsin retirement plan which takes the average of the person's 3 highest paid years and pays that to them the rest of their lives, and they do not put a dime of their own money into it, like the rest of us in the private sector do. They all get full medical, dental and vision coverage which they also pay nothing to receive. These people are making in just salary alone about twice as much as people with equivalent jobs in the private sector, except for the fact that people in the private sector have to make contributions to their benefits packages. Some of the salaries on this list are reasonable, but not many of them-mainly the people with chemistry and engineering degrees in the water department. We need someone in the mayor's office who is willing to confront this situation-someone who is willing to take on the unions, not cater to them like our current mayor. How about some kind of oversight to prevent someone who is elected to pay themselves over $100k/year in another job (Donnie Snow)? How about some rules against the obvious nepotism? I am a 5th generation lifetime resident of this city, and I now wonder if the corruption at city hall goes so deep that it can never be fixed.

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  59. They all get full medical, dental and vision coverage which they also pay nothing to receive... Get your facts right we do pay into our medical and if we want dental/vision plan we pay for that ourselves it is not offered to us. The Post needs put ALL OF THE FACTS IN, some of the officers overtime is from grant money that puts extra officers on the street and it has to be taken as pay!!! SO GET YOUR FACTS BEFORE YOU START SOUNDING OFF!!!!

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  60. I'm getting tired of the complaining about government employees by private sector employees. Sounds like jealousy to me. You could have taken a government job, but didn't. Why not? Because of the limitations on government jobs, that's why. We are not able to get bonuses, or change companies easily. We work weekends, nights, holidays, and are subject to call-in on off-hours. Who comes in when the snow flies to plow your road? DPW. Who works around the clock to come to your aid, risking their own safety and abandoning their own family when you call? Police, Fire, and Dispatchers. Who comes out in winter and the middle of the night to restore your water supply or repair down sign and signals when they go down? Water Department & Traffic Department. Yeah, we accepted the responsibility when we took the job, but we did not accept the constant complaint we get because of the compensation we receive in exchange for doing the job most of you looked down on when you took your private sector jobs with the numerous opportunities available to you. Please remember that the next time you see an evil government employee hauling away your garbage for you because he chose to serve the community instead of go into the private sector. We do not think we are better than anyone, but I for one am tired of being talked about badly because I work for the public and not for a stockholder or bottomline. We earn our compensation just as you do. If you truly believe we have it so much better then feel free to apply for a government position instead of looking down your nose at us.

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  61. 1:30 I'll look for that that stock room clerk making $50,000 this winter removing my snow - hell they probably don't even show up to work if we get a lot of snow. No matter what you say there is no justification for some of these government salaries and benefits.

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  62. Just where do you think the federal grant money comes from? We did not need it. Jealosy? Does it even occur to you that there is a lot buddy system hiring done in this city? Where does the city post its job openings? Why is someone who cuts grass and shovels snow getting paid over $50,000 a year plus benefits? What a sad state it is to come to the realization that the most lucrative jobs are in the public sector. I thought people were supposed to do these jobs to help make a difference, not to become independently wealthy. Jealosy is not the right way to describe this situation. Outrage is better. It is no wonder that our unemployment rate has been around 15% for the last two years. The property tax rate is the highest in the state, and that has driven away or shut down countless businesses. I have news for you. Without the private sector, the public sector would not even exist. If you want to keep sticking to the "I deserve this money" argument, you will be very shocked, indeed, when your grossly overpaid public position is eliminated due to lack of funding because the private sector cannot make enough money to compete because they have to charge too much because of the high taxes used to pay someone over $50,000 to sweep and have to move or close their doors. This has been going on in this city for a long time, and the precipitous drop in population reflects this. How are you going to feel as more and more of you have to be released because there is not enough funding from the private sector to pay these salaries?

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  63. Does anyone know how many total city employees there are?

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  64. Sara Whitcomb10/01/2010 3:56 PM

    I would like to know if Racine Post has something against the City? Did one of the reporters have a problem with someone at City Hall, the Police Department, the Fire Department, or City Hall Annex? I do not always read the stories on this website, but the stories I have read were missing facts. Are you planning on posting the salaries of Racine County or the Racine Unified School District or Gateway Technical College? I do not know the salaries of the people working for the City, but I do know many of them have worked there for many years. That would make sense that you have longevity and your salary increases each year, that is provided you get a raise. My understanding the people working for the City have not had a raise in a couple of years. I know many people in the private sector that make as much, if not more, than these people. Why were these salaries posted? Is it possible this story is a ploy for City management to use for upcoming union contract negotiations or to use for non-rep future hirings? It has been used before. Racine Post, who have you been talking to at the City?

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  65. I can not beive that the City would miss anything by firing say Brian O'Connell one of Dr. Jones deputies, and a few others.
    The City does not get my taxes to give a cushy paycheck to over paid City Staff.
    My guess if we cut wages and some quit we find plenty to take their place

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  66. No one will be fired and nothing will be cut. Complain all you want. Then pay your taxes. Ha-ha, you lose. You always lose because you're afraid to confront your masters to their faces. Most of you are even afraid to vote. Ha-ha, you lose.

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  67. Um....and we can not keep our public library open??
    Our non profit directors do not make this kind of money and they have their doors open more hours....seems a little our of balance.

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  68. Let's see this list for RUSD, Gateway, Racine County, and State of Wisconsin. May as well add in the other municipalities: Mt. Pleaseant, Caledonia, Sturtevant, etc

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  69. Cut police and fire pay - no cop should be making over 70k per year.

    Cut union pay scales - why page $50k a year to a clerk or janitor????

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  70. I want to see a story on so-called non profits like Careers Industries. They are top heavy in management with excessive wages for those managers while the clients make pennies on the dollar.

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  71. If the truth is to be told....the City of Racine opened its' residency rules because they felt they could pull better talent from outside of the city limits. This is the TRUTH! I have not read one comment from a person on the ferris wheel Saturday. Someone could have been seriously hurt but because the City of Racine Public Service Employees are experts at their jobs there was a happy ending to this story.

    Try to feed a family of four on $50,000 a year. Nationally this income is considered a lower middle class salary.

    Ask any public employee why they went to college and decided to work for a municipality. You will be surprised by their answers. Most of them believe in serving;yes they want to be compensated because they have families to feed. Do you know how many of them give their personal time to the community? That they do not get paid for. They believe in this City. It sounds like an awful lot of sour grapes and people responding before thinking to me. I appreciate knowing that a police officer is available 24/7 just in case.....don't you?

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  72. How in the world is this anyone's business? And for some of you...how would you save your sorry selfs if they cut fire and police personnel? But if something should happen fire or crime and no response quick enough for you..the first comment would be what took so long? People should think before they type anything.

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  73. most of you people got your heads screwed on wrong if your garbage or your snow isnt picked up or moved you are the first to whine about it so get a grip on life the doors are always open at city hall go whine there

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  74. 7:29 - no stock clerk should make over $50,000 plus outrageous benefits that city employees make.

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  75. Dear Sir The stock clerk does a lot more than just dish out parts . so get a grip on life and just pay your taxes and be happy or move somewhere else and bitch

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  76. Lets all try to find balance in this situation. I am not a city employee, but I am a student of local government in a graduate level - so I would consider myself unbiased and educated in this situation. I think some of the salaries are outrageous.

    Do I think 10+ year veterans of a dept who are managing people and doing their job well are worth the money? Heck yes. Do i feel that the top five of the library should earn $300,000-400,000 when they aren't open 7 days a week to the public? Definitely not. Do I feel police officers who don't have 10+ years on the force and who aren't a detective/investigator should be making $70-80k per year? No. I think certain city salaries (base plus OT, not including benefits) should be very competitive with private sector. The benefits are the added benefit to being government employees. I DO feelt here are some grossly overpaid people in probably both City and County positions... which is a problem. THere are some who probably are underpaid for how great they are at their job. Our job as citizens is to take information like this, get more information and hold people accountable - overturn those who don't serve the city for every dollar they earn and promote those who do. The end.

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  77. The library employees who make the most are managers who don't work nights or weekends. The employees who keep the library running during those times get paid far less than 50k.

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  78. Wow... a real eye opener! Why do people hate on the teachers and school personnel so much, when obviously, people are making much more in other government jobs?

    That salary for driving a street sweeper? Are you kidding me?

    I agree, show the top dogs salary at RUSD. There is a lot of dead wood there, for sure!

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  79. There is a very fat supervisor running in truck paid by us tax pairs in the Rochester area and never doing
    any physical work, always sitting in the truck. I would like his job. Please let my know how much the county
    and his bosses make for doing the sitting job.

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  80. He an his bosses are using the system,
    we pay !

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  81. Tax pairs? Spelling is an important part of a sitting job.

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  82. Why is there so many leadmen in the city garage
    at 6:00 a.m. especially one with $12,000 in overtime? The PD leadman leads himself and one other guy and they are never there. Did any of the leadmen ever track down all the stolen tires? Also the tools and equipment that are missing?

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