Of those, more than 137 people made more than Gov. John Kasich – who made $148,000 last year.
The top paid employee in the state is a psychiatrist, who made $335,000 in 2012. Nearly $178,000 of that was overtime.
In addition, the data shows that 17 of the top 20 overtime earners in the state were from the Ohio Department of Mental Health.
In a statement, a spokeswoman from the department of health said that a union contract requires the state to pay psychiatrists $65 an hour for nights and weekends but said that is far less than private physicians would charge. When asked why the department does not hire additional doctors, the spokeswoman said that hiring additional personnel would cost taxpayers more because of benefits and retirement payments. The department insists tit is providing services in the most fiscally responsible way.
As a whole, the Ohio Department of Corrections was the largest employer. More than 13,000 employees earned a total of $643 million with $53 million in overtime.
Among the top earners was a licensed practical nurse at the Pickaway Correctional Institute who earned $139,000 with nearly $87,000 in overtime.
A correctional officer in Marion earned double his normal salary thanks to $56,000 in overtime.
In all, more than 2,000 state employees earned six-figure incomes. That is 197 more people than in the previous year.
E. Gordon Gee, President of The Ohio State University's base salary is $802,125, with a total compensation package of $1.6 million, making him the highest paid public university president in the United States.
The Ohio State University pays Urban Meyer $4 million a year. That makes Meyer one of the highest paid college football coaches in the country. In addition to his base salary, Meyer will receive lump sums in 2014, 2016 and 2018 if he stays on the job. He can also earn six-digit bonuses for things like winning games, making it to bowl games and improving player graduation rates. And then there are the perks: $1,200 a month to spend on cars, a golf course membership, football tickets, a fellowship in his name and use of a private jet.
Are we a great state and country, or what? Wonder how many unemployed, on welfare and homeless we have?
