JOHNSTON — No other city or town in Rhode Island had more firefighters employed in its top-grossing municipal jobs during the 2006 calendar year.

Eight supervisors in the Fire Department were among the municipality’s 10 highest earning employees in 2006. Seven of the firefighters grossed between $104,000 and $115,000, and one — Assistant Chief Thomas Ucci Jr. — grossed more than $143,000.

The average gross pay for firefighters was higher in Cranston and in Providence, too, if you include a lump-sum retroactive pay increase given to the capital city’s firefighters that year. The average gross in Johnston was $74,499 versus $77,276 in Cranston and $71,161 in Providence, not including the retroactive pay increase.

Also, the gross pay for certain fire service commanders in Providence ranged from $150,000 to $186,000.

Nonetheless, the number of firefighters among Johnston’s top-grossing employees spotlights the lucrative opportunities that the community offers to firefighters who will work overtime in supervisory jobs.

The high-earning firefighters worked a total of 10,466 overtime hours, according to hourly wage information provided by the Fire Department.

Two police officers who also logged lots of overtime, a captain and a lieutenant, rounded out the list of highest grossing municipal employees. The earnings of the top-grossing schools employees were less than $100,000, with the exception of three schools administrators, whose pay was in line with education chiefs in districts of similar size across the state.

The Journal requested the gross pay figures as part of its statewide look at payroll spending in the 2006 calendar year.

The numbers, provided by school and town officials, do not include the cost of benefits, but do include such extra money as overtime, longevity bonuses and additional pay for holding more than one job.

UCCI EMERGED as the highest paid public employee in Johnston.

How did he do it?

He says a confluence of events led him to work four different jobs in 2006, collecting $68,488 in overtime. He says he was paid an overtime rate of $40.43 per hour, which means he worked 1,694 hours.

Ucci says he started working two different jobs early in the administration of former Mayor William R. Macera, when the department’s former deputy chief, Al Fellela, stopped working for the town.

At the time, he was working as a battalion chief and Fellela was earning about $100,000 a year, he says. With some encouragement from the local fire union, says Ucci, he was allowed to carry out his battalion chief’s duties and earn overtime doing Fellela’s job.

The consolidation was seen as a cost-saving measure.

“We eliminated a full salary,” Ucci says.

Then, in 2006, he says he carried out those two jobs and also earned overtime filling in for a battalion chief, Vincent Crosby, who initially went out on disability and eventually left the job altogether.

Toward the end of the same year, he says he became acting chief, following the departure of the former fire chief, Paul Labbadia. That led to more overtime, he says.

Ucci’s base pay that year was $58,757. His $143,688 gross also included $16,442 in additional compensation for longevity, holiday pay, clothing and reimbursements for school tuition.

The president of the firefighters’ union, Capt. Joseph Andreoli, emphasized that the highest-earning firefighters, himself included, clocked huge amounts of overtime.

“Understand the dynamics of it,” he says, “the reason behind it.”

“They’re putting in a lot of hours away from their families,” he says. “They are there nights, weekends, holidays.”

Andriole earned $46,939 in overtime pay, at a rate of $35.18 per hour, according to figures provided by the department. That amounts to 1,334 overtime hours.

He says he logged the time filling in for other captains and running the department’s fire prevention and safety program.

Fire Lt. Jack Lucia Jr.’s $54,640 in overtime pay compensated him for 1,623 hours at a rate of $33.65 an hour.

Fire Lt. Scott R. McHugh’s $52,410 in overtime pay compensated him for 1,557 hours at a rate of $33.65 per hour.

Fire Lt. Anthony A. Pallini’s $49,113 in overtime pay compensated him for 1,459 hours at a rate of $33.65 per hour.

Fire Battalion Chief Charles Cavallaro Jr.’s $39,047 in overtime compensated him for 1,015 hours at a rate of $38.45 per hour.

Fire Battalion Chief Henry Courtemanche’s $38,008 in overtime pay compensated him for 988 hours at a rate of $38.45 per hour.

Fire Marshal Carlo Jacavone Jr.’s $34,005 in overtime pay compensated him for 884 hours at a rate of $38.45 per hour.

In many other communities, police supervisors often had more representation among the list of top municipal earners.

BUT ONLY ONE Johnston police captain, David M. DeCesare, broke into the top-five category. His gross earnings came to $110,523.

Like the high-grossing firefighters, he, too, clocked a lot of overtime.

DeCesare, who often represents the department at Town Council meetings, also earned $14,201 on detail jobs paid for by customers in the private sector.

Another $20,040 of his earnings covered items such as longevity — a type of extra income awarded to longer-serving department members — holiday pay, clothing and keeping up with his firearm qualifications.

The captain’s total overtime came to $21,059.

Deputy Police Chief Gary W. Maddocks Jr. broke down DeCesare’s overtime efforts into more than 10 different categories for the fiscal year that ended last June 30.

Maddocks says he earned about $11,000 in overtime supervising various police operations while he was off his normal shift.

He also clocked another $5,700 working on an accident reduction initiative. His other overtime earnings covered work such as internal affairs, recruiting, court, training, and about $1,145 for police tasks covered by government grants.

“All of this overtime is completely justifiable,” Maddocks said. “I review every single overtime for this captain and so does the chief. It’s nothing that’s questionable. He does the work of two captains, not one.”

Compiled by Paul Edward Parker

THE PROVIDENCE JOURNAL

Source: Town of Johnston

Compiled by Paul Edward Parker

THE PROVIDENCE JOURNAL

Source: Johnston School Dept.

mreynold@projo.com