The towns of Richmond and Hopkinton have a lot in common: similar populations, similar figures for median household income and similar numbers of children attending a shared regional school system.

But any resemblance between these rural neighbors ends with a comparison of their biggest single expense: employee payroll.

Richmond, with 36 full-time and 20 part-time workers, spent $1.4 million on its municipal (non-school) payroll during 2006. Hopkinton, with 52 full-time and 49 part-time workers, spent $2.7 million — almost double Richmond’s amount.

Payroll records provided by cities and towns across the state in response to a Providence Journal open-records request, reveal wide disparities among municipalities as they create jobs and pay people to do everything from manage budgets to respond to calls for help to trim trees along public roads.

Simply put, some communities spend less — a lot less. And some spend more — a lot more.

The reasons can be obvious. Municipalities with larger populations generally have larger staffs. Some are more generous with employee pay.

But the differences are often driven by issues and choices that determine what services a community offers. Some have senior centers; others do not. Some have full-time paid fire departments; others have local fire districts that function independently of municipal government. Some have oceanfront beaches and draw thousands of tourists and seasonal residents during the summer.

While none of the 10 South County towns had payrolls that compared to those in the state’s cities, the local payrolls represented two extremes when costs were measured on a per-capita, or per-resident basis.

Exeter, with a town (or non-school) payroll of $744,352 during calendar year 2006, had the lowest per-capita cost in the state — $120. Block Island, with a payroll of $2.2 million, had the highest — $2,162.

Both towns can be viewed as anomalies.

Exeter, with the state’s fifth-smallest population, is the only Rhode Island municipality that has no police department and is one of only five without a mayor, manager or administrator. Block Island, reached only by boat or plane, has unique factors that make its services more costly. First and foremost, it has the state’s smallest year-round population, which means its per-capita costs are split among a small group of people.

But even without those exceptions, South County still had some of the state’s highest and lowest per-capita payroll costs.

WITH ABOUT 16,700 full-time residents, Narragansett ranked 21st among Rhode Island cities and towns in population. In non-school payroll costs, the town ranked 13th, and when those costs were divided among residents, the town ranked fourth — behind Block Island, Newport and Providence.

Narragansett’s non-school payroll during 2006 totaled $11 million — more than the payroll in any town across the state that had a similar population and, like Narragansett, had a full-time municipal fire department — and more than the payroll in some towns that had thousands more residents. Smithfield, with a population of 21,698, had payroll costs of $10.7 million.

Narragansett, however, had different demands on its services.

As an oceanfront community, it attracts a summer influx of tourists. Partly as a result, the town has a self-funding beach program and extensive recreation programs that are partly funded by user fees. Together, these programs employed more than 250 full- and part-time workers during 2006 and added about $1.1 million to the town payroll.

The town also has self-funded water and sewer operations that added another $700,000 to its payroll.

Town Manager Jeffry Ceasrine referred questions about payroll costs to Human Resources Manager Sharon Kitchin, who said after speaking with Ceasrine that Narragansett “just offers a lot more services than most towns.”

Kitchin cited the recreation and beach programs, as well as the town’s engineering department, which had five employees and added some $230,000 to payroll costs during 2006, eliminating the need for outside consultants.

The payroll records did, in fact, show that Narragansett had a higher count of full-time employees relative to population than most South County towns and a breakdown of general categories into which payroll dollars went — public safety, public services, administration, social programs, regulatory programs, legislative positions and other — shows that Narragansett spent more than towns with similar populations in all categories except legislative and other.

But the payroll records also indicated that the town paid more generously. The average pay for full-time employees, about $57,000 including overtime and “other” pay, such as police details, was the highest in the region.

Still, the per-capita cost figures do not tell the full story of who paid those wages. With more than 2,000 homes that are used on a seasonal basis, according to the U.S. Census, Narragansett appears to have many homeowners who contribute to the town’s tax revenues without being counted in the year-round population figure.

The pattern of higher per-capita costs also held true in another seaside town, Jamestown, which ranked 36th in year-round population but 28th in payroll. On a per-capita basis, the town’s payroll — $3.5 million during 2006 — was fifth-highest in the state, behind Narragansett.

Town Administrator Bruce R. Keiser acknowledged that the town’s costs might be higher but said that many factors affect what a town spends on payroll.

Keiser said Jamestown is more densely populated than some towns with similar populations, adding to the need for town services such as water and sewerage. He also said that the town, as a coastal community situated on an island, faces an unusual array of environmental issues, and as a result has a staff engineer and an environmental scientist — two posts that other towns with similar populations probably would not have.

And like Narragansett, Jamestown also sees a summer influx of tourists and seasonal residents, which adds to the cost of police coverage and recreation programs, Keiser said. Town records show that about 530 of the more than 2,700 houses on the island have owners who list non-Jamestown addresses, meaning they are adding to the tax base but probably are not adding to the town’s official population count.

Keiser said their impact is felt during the summer.

“We would have a significant expense on the police side that may not exist, say, in a Richmond or an Exeter,” he said.

While Narragansett and Jamestown spent more on payroll than did towns with similar populations, a recent report by the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council on property tax burdens suggests the towns, with their high-priced oceanfront homes, can afford it.

Narragansett’s $37-million tax levy in fiscal 2006, for example, was relatively small compared to the town’s $5.3-billion tax base, according to the report, which also concluded that Narragansett had the state’s fourth-lowest tax rate when property taxes were compared on the median-priced home in each city and town. Jamestown’s tax rate was third-lowest, the report concluded.

AS THE NUMBERS for Narragansett and Jamestown suggest, population was not always a good indicator of how much towns spent.

South Kingstown, the most populous town in South County, with 29,457 residents in 2006, ranked second in payroll spending.

North Kingstown, with 2,723 fewer residents, spent the most — $14.9 million, or $3.1 million more than South Kingstown.

The difference can be attributed to fire protection.

South Kingstown, like most towns in the region, relies on local fire districts that operate independently of town government. North Kingstown has a municipal fire department that also provides emergency medical services — operations that accounted for more than $5 million, or about one-third, of the town’s non-school payroll costs. Subtract that figure and North Kingstown’s payroll would have been lower than South Kingstown’s.

North Kingstown Town Manager Michael Embury said the full-time municipal fire department “is absolutely necessary” given the town’s size and the types of buildings that need protection, such as those in the Quonset Point Business Park.

South Kingstown Town Manager Stephen A. Alfred said his town’s independent fire districts “do an excellent job” in providing fire protection.

“Certainly no municipality is going to put in a paid fire department unless it’s warranted,” he said.

South Kingstown also boasted one of the region’s lower figures for average full-time pay — about $44,000. Alfred said the figure would have been lower if not for a contract settlement that resulted in retroactive payments to some Town Hall employees. He also said the town’s staff, larger than that of smaller towns, helps to reduce the average because there are more support people to dilute the pay of department heads.

Westerly, the third-most populous South County town, ranked fourth in payroll, behind Narragansett, but like South Kingstown it has no municipal fire department.

The payroll cost was about $9 million, including $1.2 million for workers in a town water department that is supported by user fees.

Town Manager Joseph T. Turo echoed his counterparts in Narragansett and Jamestown, saying Westerly, as a coastal town, sees a summer influx that adds to the demands on town services. The town’s year-round population, 23,424 in 2006 according to U.S. Census data, “swells to fifty-five or fifty-six thousand,” during the summer, he said.

THE PAYROLL NUMBERS highlighted some of the differences among Charlestown, Richmond and Hopkinton, the three towns that send children to the Chariho Regional School District.

While the three neighboring towns fall right into line in terms of population — Charlestown ranked 31st statewide, Hopkinton 32nd and Richmond 33rd — they were worlds apart on payroll spending.

As noted, Hopkinton’s $2.7-million payroll was nearly double that of Richmond’s $1.4-million figure. But Charlestown, a seaside town, had the highest payroll of the three — $3.5 million — and outspent the other towns on police coverage, administration, social programs and regulatory functions.

Charlestown also had the highest per-capita payroll cost of the three — $482.02. Hopkinton’s was $339.73, while Richmond’s was $187.75 — second-lowest or 38th in the state, even though the town ranked 33rd in population.

Like other oceanfront towns, Charlestown has a larger tax base than its landlocked neighbors and is able to afford higher costs. The RIPEC report showed that Charlestown, like Narragansett, Jamestown and Westerly, had one of the state’s lowest tax rates when property taxes were compared on the median-priced home in each city and town.

Richmond, by contrast, had a streamlined operation. There was no town administrator and the count of full-time employees — 36 — was second-lowest in the state. The figure for average full-time pay, $36,177, was the second-lowest in South County.

“We try to run a very cost-effective government,” said Henry R. Oppenheimer, a member of the Town Council. “We think hard about what we need in each office to absolutely fill the needs of the citizens. It’s as simple as that.”

Statewide, only Exeter had lower total payroll and per-capita payroll figures. The town, which ranked 35th in population, ranked last in payroll costs, which totaled $744,352.

The frugality was epitomized by the small town staff. There were just 14 full-time employees, the lowest count in the state, and the average pay for those full-time employees was the lowest in South County — $30,571.

The low employee count was partly due to Exeter’s having no police department. The state police have long provided coverage for the town at no cost, though they have asked the town to start paying a share.

The highest per-capita payroll costs in the state were on Block Island, and Town Manager Nancy Dodge said there were good reasons.

The island town’s non-school payroll — $2.2 million — was 35th in the state, but with 1,033 residents, the town had the smallest year-round population.

Dodge said the town, like many seaside communities, sees a large summer influx of tourists and seasonal residents. But even with a small year-round population, the town has to provide services — police, public works, inspections, and tax collections, to name a few.

“There are certain costs that you have whether you have 500 people or 5,000 people or 25,000,” she said.

redgar@projo.com