Port Authority payroll exceeds $1.2 billion, with 20 staff earning $400K each
Twenty Port Authority employees, including 17 police officers, each received $400,000 last year as the agency’s total payroll topped $1.2 billion.
Payroll records indicate the Port Authority’s 2025 payroll exceeded $1.2 billion, a 5% increase from the previous year, with an average salary of $144,033 for its 8,356 employees. Twenty individuals, including 17 police officers, each earned $400,000, and eight of the agency’s highest-paid staff received more than $200,000 in overtime. A total of 323 workers collected six-figure overtime, among them 189 police officers, accounting for $85 million—or 43%—of all overtime spending.
Police Lieutenant Nicholas Federico topped the list with $215,717 in overtime, totaling $466,775, while detective sergeants Dewan Maharaj and Robert Zafonte Jr. each made $448,601. Empire Center president Zilvinas Silenas warned that high wages and overtime inflate pension liabilities and could lead to higher tolls after a recent 3% bridge and tunnel toll hike. Port Authority spokesman Seth Stein defended the costs, citing essential security duties and a 9% decline in average police overtime from 2024 to 2025.
Why it matters
Taxpayers fund a payroll where overtime drives costs, potentially raising transportation fees.
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