How much money do Miami Beach city employees make? The data is now online

Pay data for Miami Beach city employees is now available online.

A searchable database that went live last week shows each employee’s annual salary and total compensation for each year since 2021.

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The Miami Beach City Commission voted last month to launch the database. Commissioner David Suarez proposed the move, including the five-year salary history. That’s more than is required under a new state law that mandates cities and counties to post a quarterly summary of employee pay starting next year.

Several commissioners raised concerns about the database at the June 24 meeting.

Commissioner Monica Matteo-Salinas said she worried city staff could be “bullied” online if people are able to easily look up their salary information. Commissioner Tanya Katzoff Bhatt, similarly, said she feared for employee safety.

Commissioner Alex Fernandez, meanwhile, said the database could help competitors in the public and private sectors poach Miami Beach employees to work elsewhere.

But Suarez said it was the right thing to do.

“This is just transparency,” Suarez said, noting that employee salaries are funded by taxpayers and that the information is public record. “I, for one, want to know exactly where our dollars are being spent and how much money a certain individual is making.”

Mayor Steven Meiner said he agreed.

“Ultimately, transparency, to me, is going to win out, so I’m going to support it,” Meiner said.

The vote was ultimately 6-1 to go forward with the database. Matteo-Salinas was opposed.

Pay information for more than 2,400 Miami Beach employees is included in the database.

It shows that City Manager Eric Carpenter has the highest base salary in the government he oversees at nearly $398,000, followed by City Attorney Ricardo Dopico at around $382,000.

Police Chief Wayne Jones has the city’s ninth-highest salary at just over $313,000. Right behind him is Fire Chief Digna Abello at around $310,000.

But none of those officials brought home the most pay in 2025, according to the database, which also includes gross pay data that factors in overtime and any other payments from the city.

The city’s highest-paid official in 2025 was Fire Capt. Christian Chavez at more than $490,000, followed by Fire Capt. Timothy Barreto at $480,000. Chavez and Barreto are 14-year department veterans who each have base salaries of about $173,000.

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Police Lt. Javier Fernandez had the city’s third-highest total pay in 2025 at around $461,000. His base salary is around $143,000.

Carpenter and Dopico were next in total pay, at $454,000 and $421,000, respectively.

The city of Miami launched a similar online portal in May. Miami-Dade County also posts pay data online.

A Miami Herald analysis of compensation for Miami-Dade County workers showed that, in 2024, County Attorney Geraldine Bonzon-Keenan was the top earner at over $470,000.

The city of Miami’s portal includes base salary data and gross pay for the current year but doesn’t go further back in time. It shows that City Manager James Reyes has the highest salary at $475,000, followed by City Attorney George Wysong at around $418,000.

Elected official pay

Miami Beach elected officials are part-time employees with low base salaries: $10,000 for the mayor and $6,000 for commissioners. But their total compensation is significantly greater when including stipends and vehicle and cell phone benefits.

Mayor Steven Meiner’s total compensation last year was about $48,000.

Suarez, who donates his salary, has proposed eliminating the car and phone allowances, highlighting substantial increases in the mayor and commission budget in recent years.

The commission is beginning citywide budget discussions based on a rolled-back tax rate, also pushed by Suarez, aimed at keeping property taxes relatively flat for residents. That would require more than $20 million in spending cuts.

Miami Beach’s operating budget has increased from $627 million five years ago to $911 million currently.

In addition to Suarez’s proposal for an online salary database, Commissioner Joseph Magazine proposed last month that the city create an online portal to track the city’s budget, revenues and expenditures at a “granular” level.

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That proposal passed unanimously. The portal has not yet been created.

This story was originally published July 14, 2026 at 5:00 AM.