No wonder property taxes are so high. Don't forget, most of these people retire after 20 years service and their wages and benefits continue for life! So you are paying for current employees and a couple generations of retirees. Yes, some of the jobs are risky but no one forced them into them. The worst thing that happened is allowing government employees to unionize. They are bankrupting cities and hurting their civilian counterparts. 
http://alaskapolicyforum.org/resources/municipality-of-anchorage/flowchart32/