DRAIN THE SWAMP: Follow the Money in Florida: 34,873 Public Employees with $100,000+ Salaries Cost Taxpayers $5.5B.

When our team of auditors at OpenTheBooks.com reviewed the most highly compensated employees at every level of government in Florida, we found more than 35,000 state and local government employees brought home six and seven-figure salaries, costing taxpayers $5.5 billion annually.

Since last year, the headcount of these high-compensated Florida government workers jumped by nearly 4,000 employees.

The list of high earners includes an airport director accepting retirement payments and a working salary; a city attorney making $436,918; a junior college president making $386,578; and a county administrator making $346,722. There are even 26 small-town, village, and city managers out-earning every governor of the 50 states.

I know the argument is that local governments want to attract the “best people,” but does anyone believe that they do?