Size Doesn't Matter

The Star provides a list of the highest paid mayors in Indiana. It shows size doesn't always matter. Indianapolis is by far the state's largest city with a population of over 834,000, but Mayor Greg Ballard is only the 8th highest paid mayor in the state at $102,620. Perhaps not surprising, the state's highest paid mayor comes from one with very high poverty levels. Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson earns about $130,000. When Fishers' first mayor Scott Fadness takes office, he will become one of the highest paid in the state at $125,000. Here's the top ten list:

1. Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson-$129,922 (Pop. 79,170)
2. Fort Wayne Mayor Thomas Henry-$127,289 (Pop. 254,555)
3. Carmel Mayor James Brainard-$118,673 (Pop. 83,656)
4. Westfield Mayor Andy Cook-$108,200 (Pop. 33,382)
5. South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg-$104,847 (Pop. 100,800)
6. Hammond Mayor Tom McDermott-$104,436 (Pop. 80,830)
7. Noblesville Mayor John Ditslear-$104,340 (Pop. 55,075)
8. Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard-$102,620 (Pop. 834,852)
9. Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke-$98,562 (Pop. 120,235)
10. Bloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan-$95,464 (Pop. 80,963)

I found this statistic interesting. Carmel has 2,000 city employees, the same number as Fort Wayne, which is about triple the size of Carmel. South Bend has almost 20,000 more people, but its city employee headcount is almost half the size of Carmel's at 1,100. Brainard must have city employees hanging from the chandeliers up there.