the Lehigh Acres Fire Dep. has released an updated and corrected copy of the salaries and benefits of the employees of the Lehigh Acres fire and Rescue District, said Patrick Comer, the department’s public information officer Thursday.

The new document is attached to this article.

The copy of the salary estimates of LAFD employees that was previously given out by the department was a complex accounting document that was prepared at the request of Kevin Shea for The Lehigh Acres Citizen.

A lot of time and effort went into preparing the document, Comer said. However, in preparing the document some names got flip-flopped and the figures listed did not match up in every case with the right employee. Those have been adjusted. In addition, holiday pay was listed for several employees who do not receive extra pay for holidays, Comer said. That has been adjusted.

Also, some have misinterpreted the “Loaded Totals” column in the previous document to mean total pay and benefits an employee received, when in fact that column reflects what it costs the department for that employee, i.e.; taxes, workers compensation, insurance, etc.

“We have updated the document to more fairly and accurately reflect the salaries and benefits of LAFD employees. The second to last column reflects the actual pay and benefits per employee. It includes wages, health insurance, retirement contribution, educational incentives and clothing allowance. The last column lists the costs to the department for each employee,” Comer said in an email to the media.