EAST PROVIDENCE — The city has the most employees, the highest population and the largest payroll costs in the East Bay region.

Yet it also has the lowest median household income.

Census data from 2000 — which was adjusted 17 percent to reflect six years of inflation — shows the city’s 49,123 residents in 2006 had a median household income of $45,756.

In comparison, six of eight other communities in the region have incomes that are $5,300 to about $41,500 higher than the city. Its southern neighbor, Barrington, has the highest average earnings in East Bay with $87,271.

The city manager says he believes East Providence’s figure is lowest because of the fixed incomes of its senior citizens, which make up nearly 20 percent of the population. Richard Brown also said they are a critical factor that drives the city’s fiscal decisions, including figuring out what percentage of East Providence’s tax dollars should go toward public safety.

“I am not suggesting that seniors are rowdy and require a lot of service, but we have the second highest number of seniors per capita in the state of Rhode Island,” Brown said. “Senior citizen levels tend to drive 911 calls and if they don’t drive the [amount of calls], they drive the need to have it available.”

Payroll numbers from 2006 show this city spends 24.6 percent of its payroll on public safety, which includes police, fire, rescue and emergency-management operations. It uses another 3.5 percent — more than any other community in the region — of its payroll on social programs, which include recreation, library and senior center services.

Most of its payroll, 59.3 percent or more than $43.5 million, goes to teacher and school employee salaries.

The findings are based on a Journal survey in which all cities and towns were asked to provide information on all employees from 2006, including how much they made. The numbers were not audited. The data were also used to compare how much the average worker made that year and how many people were employed by a municipality or school system.

But the numbers may not be definitive.

Many police officers’ salaries include thousands of dollars they receive from working details, which are reimbursed by the funeral homes and electric companies that need the officers present for controlling traffic. Businesses and companies pay $42 per hour for details.

The city’s many state roads within its borders, the construction to keep them driver-friendly and pothole-free and the details needed to lessen the interruption for the residents also “drive up the law enforcement figures,” Brown said. Major thoroughfares include Taunton, Warren and Pawtucket avenues, as well as Broadway, Veterans Memorial Parkway and the Wampanoag Trail.

Police and fire personnel also take up about a fourth of the payroll because the city is trying to do more with fewer employees. Many officers are taking on extra shifts that have to be manned for the city’s safety. Fire lieutenants are doubling as grant writers for the department and assistant fire marshals.

The details, overtime, and multiple responsibilities explain some of the reasons why the average pay for the city’s full-time, nonschool employee — a number gathered by combining part-time positions into full-time equivalents, or FTEs — is $61,369. Only Portsmouth and Newport’s average pays for its nonschool employees are more in the region.

“The theory is we save a little money because we don’t have to pay for fringes and all that stuff, but it tends to drive up what you’re analyzing,” Brown said. “If we hire fewer, our cost will be down per person, but the [overall costs] would be higher.”

While looking at The Journal’s numbers more, Brown concluded, “They are what they are.”

He said they are a snapshot of the city’s finances over one year, and that’s all.

“The numbers I am more concerned with show trends over time,” Brown said. “Look at them from year over year and if there is a blip or an outlier, we need to find out what’s the cause of that.”

And he said while some residents may be unhappy with the high average salaries, they wouldn’t “enjoy” the services they receive without the city’s employees.

East Providence has water and sewer treatment facilities while other communities, like Barrington, use their neighbors’ facilities. Some communities may not have a senior center and East Providence offers activities for its elderly there and at the city’s recreation center.

“Some communities build community centers, but the closest thing they have to recreation is a Ping-Pong table,” Brown said. For example, one town had “an old school building that they cleaned up and painted the walls. No kids ever used it because there was nothing there for them.”

In addition, the city manager said East Providence hires a company to pick up residents’ trash while other communities mandate their citizens buy trash bags from them or drive most of their waste to a transfer station.

“Not one of them [residents] is willing to give up any of the services they themselves enjoy,” Brown said, while also mentioning the city’s popular Heritage Days celebration and the well-groomed Pierce Field stadium and park that citizens and others frequent.

“The most important level of government that we have in this country is local government,” Brown said. “If you don’t like what [Governor] Carcieri does, try to see Don Carcieri. If you don’t like what I do, my door is always open… Local government is accessible. State government isn’t and federal government is even worst, but we get the brunt of it because we are accessible.”

Brown continued, “… The people can’t fight the state government and can’t fight the federal government, so they put pressure on the local government. I mean, by and large, they are getting a good value from us.” THE PUBLIC PAYROLL: EAST BAY

Payroll costs are by far the biggest item in the budgets of cities and towns. In the East Bay region, pay for municipal employees totaled more than $94 million, according to reports supplied to The Journal for each community for the calendar year 2006. The money for salaries came from local taxes, along with fees, grants and other sources.

In every community except for Newport, more money is spent on schools than on nonschool functions such as police and fire protection and public works.

The median household income offers a possible measure of the citizens’ ability to pay their municipal workers.

POPULATION is from 2006 U.S. Census estimates. MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME is from 2000 Census, adjusted for 17 percent inflation from 2000 to 2006. SCHOOL and NONSCHOOL PAYROLLS were compiled by the Journal from 2006 figures. SCHOOL FTEs are from the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for 2005-06 school year and are a total of teachers and staff. Portsmouth figures have been updated from previously published charts after consultation with the school department. NONSCHOOL FTEs are from the state Office of Municipal Affairs for 2007 fiscal year. (FTEs are calculated with a full-time employee counting as one and a part-time worker counting as a fraction of one, depending on how many hours he or she works.)

THE PROVIDENCE JOURNAL

apina@projo.com