Joliet's Highest Paid Employees Over $200,000: Water Department Foreman Drew $63,000 In Overtime Pay

JOLIET, IL — One of Joliet's highest paid employees continues to be Terry Juricic, a maintenance foreman in the water department of the city's public utilities division, a Joliet Patch public salary analysis shows. Last year, Juricic made $202,484 and his overtime compensation for 2024 was more than some of Joliet's City Hall staff make in annual salary.

In 2024, Juricic made $63,067 in overtime wages in addition to his $134,439 in regular salary as a water department maintenance foreman. Juricic also made $1,713 for holiday worked double pay and $1,357 holiday worked triple pay and $1,909 under the category "callback pay."

As a Joliet public utilities employee, Juricic is a union member of the AFSCME Local 440 that remains unable to negotiate a new collective bargaining contract with Mayor Terry D'Arcy and his city administration.

In recent months, Joliet Patch has filed a handful of Freedom of Information Act requests to obtain more salary and compensation data surrounding Juricic and other city employees represented by AFSCME 440.

By making $63,067 in regular overtime pay, Juricic averaged $1,213 in overtime wages every week last year, even though he did not work all 52 weeks because of city holidays and vacation time.

Joliet Patch found that Juricic's overtime pay during the past five years totaled $270,392, putting the maintenance foreman's average overtime wages at $54,078 annually from 2020 through 2024.

Juricic's compensation with Joliet also reached $200,927 in 2023. In 2022, he made $195,025. The previous two years, in 2020 and 2021, Juricic made $162,725 and $166,312 respectively.

Last year, a total of six AFSCME Local 440 employees exceeded $200,000 in total compensation from the city of Joliet. However, four of them received significant payouts for their retirement buyouts, which helped boost their pay above $200,000.

AFSCME 440 Member Tops $265,000 In Compensation Last Year

Local 440 member David Gornick was the second highest paid Joliet employee for 2024, making $265,941. Gornick started with the city in September 1995 and Joliet listed his retirement in public utilities as of Jan. 9 of this year.

During his final year on the job, Gornick made a salary of $134,439 as chief wastewater plant operator at the east side treatment plant, plus $39,120 in overtime pay last year. Gornick also made $8,047 for holiday worked triple pay and another $4,460 for holiday worked double time. Gornick drew a stipend of $1,834 for having an operator's license.

In addition to about $187,900 in wages during 2024, Gornick was paid another $78,042 for his retirement severance at Joliet. Gornick received $51,878 for cashing out his nest egg of unused vacation, plus another $26,164 for his unused sick leave hours.

In addition to Juricic and Gornick, four other AFSCME 440 members made over $200,000 last year.

During his final year on the job, Charles Jones made $230,811 as a wastewater plant operator II. Jones began with Joliet in April 1996 and Jan. 9 of this year is listed as his retirement date.

In addition to his $122,088 salary, Jones made $46,347 in overtime pay, plus $4,226 in double time pay and $1,409 in triple time pay. Jones received $1,526 for holiday double pay and $704 for holiday triple play and $1,933 for step differential. At the time of his retirement, Jones received $28,817 for his unused vacation payout and another $23,760 for his sick bank payout.

After Jones, the next highest compensated employee in AFSCME 440 was Mark Sefcik, who held the title of civil engineer I and had an annual salary of $141,061. Sefcik made $226,354 last year, including $55,984 for his unused vacation payout and $27,453 for sick leave payout. Sefcik's overtime pay was small, compared to the others, at $1,857.

Paul Bomba was the fourth retiree in AFSCME 440 who topped $200,000 in pay last year; his job title was engineering aide II. Bomba's salary was $134,439 and he received $34,757 in overtime pay, plus $3,878 in double pay for working holidays. Upon retirement, Bomba's vacation payout was $11,453 and $26,164 for his unused sick bank. His total pay for 2024 was $210,691.

Wastewater Plant Operator Made Nearly $210,000

While four of the six AFSCME 440 members who made over $200,000 last year have retired from Joliet, Wayne Lopez, in addition to Juricic, remains an active city employee.

Lopez made $209,770 last year, and his job title is chief wastewater plant operator. Lopez had a salary of $134,439 and his overtime pay last year was more than Juricic, at $64,060. In addition, Lopez made $4,783 in double time pay and $3,490 in triple time pay. Like Gornick, Lopez received an $1,834 stipend for having an operator's license.

Joliet Patch reviewed Lopez's compensation history for the last five years and found that 2024 marked the only time Lopez has exceeded $200,000 in wages. In 2023, Lopez made $158,646; in 2022: $191,140, 2021 was $157,973 and in 2020, Lopez was paid $148,689.

City Spokesman Explains Overtime Situation In Public Utilities Division

Prior to publishing this story, Joliet Patch reached out to city of Joliet spokeswoman Rosemaria DiBenedetto with several questions. One question asked, "Terry Juricic and Wayne Lopez both made more than $60,000 in overtime pay alone last year and in Juricic's case, he has been averaging $54,000 in overtime pay for each of the past five years. Is someone ... monitoring overtime expenses ... and making sure it is warranted and justified, or is that not the case?"

"Overtime is carefully monitored by both department heads and the Finance Department," DiBenedetto responded. "Mr. Juricic and Mr. Lopez work in the Public Utilities Department. Timesheets undergo a multilayer approval process, including review by the employees’ supervisor and department head."

DiBenedetto also explained that overtime pay is based on work performed outside regular hours.

"For example, Mr. Juricic’s overtime primarily results from emergency water main repairs, which occur frequently due to Joliet’s aging infrastructure." DiBenedetto pointed out. "The number of water main breaks Joliet experiences annually ranges from 175 to 200, and this number has been decreasing due to investments in replacing aging water mains. Using city staff for these emergencies is generally more cost-effective than hiring outside contractors."

As for Lopez, DiBenedetto indicated that he serves as Joliet's chief wastewater operator at the Aux Sable wastewater treatment plant.

"One of his responsibilities is operating a machine that presses sludge, a 24/7 operation that is time sensitive. It is more cost-effective to pay Mr. Lopez overtime than to hire outside contractors for this work," DiBenedetto explained. "Overtime opportunities are distributed in accordance with the Collective Bargaining Agreement with AFSCME 440. Some employees, by nature of their roles or willingness, may take more overtime opportunities than others."

As for the year-long expired labor contract for city of Joliet employees in AFSCME Local 440, DiBenedetto explained on Thursday that "negotiations are ongoing.

"The contract expired on December 31, 2024. In an effort to bargain in good faith, we will not comment on the current status of negotiations," she added.