Civil $ervice

Christmas came early for Miami-Dade County Manager George Burgess when the county commission gave him a $54,000 raise at its December 21 meeting. Citing Burgess's management of hurricanes and other events, commissioners bumped the third-year employee's salary from $257,000 to $311,000. With a benefits package thrown in, the total comes to $390,000 a year. The department heads who report to Burgess aren't doing too badly either. Several earn more than $200,000 in salary, and all make more than $95,000 when supplements are accounted for. Almost all receive $18,720 in annual benefits, which include a $10,000 "executive benefits allowance," a $6500 car allowance, $1500 toward a retirement account, and $720 worth of parking fee and Metrorail fare reimbursements. The following is a list of some of the top-paid county executives.