LINCOLN — If you want to prosper in a town job in Lincoln, the money is in the details.

A Providence Journal survey of municipal salaries statewide for the 2006 calendar year showed that in Lincoln, all of the 10 highest paid town government employees were in the Police Department. In most cases, individual officer’s salaries were boosted — in one case actually doubled — by so-called special detail pay.

In the School Department, rank had its financial privileges. The list of the top 10 highest school system salaries pretty much followed the school district’s chain of command. It was led by the superintendent, central office administrators, principals and included one teacher.

In the Police Department, special details are when, either by ordinance or town policy, an event such as a football game or a concert is required to have police officers present.

The town does not pay for that time, Town Administrator T. Joseph Almond said. Instead, the contractor, business or organization sponsoring the event requiring the detail is billed about $35 per hour for the officer’s time. The town also charges for any taxes or other expenses and adds an administrative fee to cover the town’s cost of calculating the bill and sending it out, he said. The town is paid the money, and then passes the officer’s share on to him or her, Almond said

Almond said Lincoln police probably have more opportunities for detail pay than most other towns. A major source of the work is the Twin River video slot complex off Twin River Road. Except for Sunday mornings before noon, Twin River is required to have two police officers on duty whenever the 474,000-square-foot facility is open.

Another factor making 2006 an exceptional year for detail work was extensive road construction in town, particularly on Route 116, where work on a new interchange disrupted traffic for much of the year.

Without the boosts of special details, base pay for the Police Department employees who made the town’s top 10 salary list for 2006 would have ranged from $37,710 for Patrolman Ryan Laboissonniere to Deputy Chief Brian W. Sullivan’s $64,928. But when detail pay was added in, the spread soared to between $85,077 and $100,738. In two cases, detail pay more than doubled a patrolman’s base salary.

Those detail-enhanced paychecks were enough to knock some of the town’s managers off the top 10 list. In 2006, Sue P. Sheppard was town administrator and drew a salary of $67,395, which was $18,000 short of 10th place. Police Chief Robert T. Kells — as chief was ineligible for detail pay — was even farther back, at $63,917.

Sullivan said officers are limited to a maximum of 16 hours regular work and detail time. First choice for the extra shifts is offered on a seniority basis, with officers with the most time with the department getting first pick.

Not all officers want detail work all the time, Sullivan he said. The extra work is generally most popular with new officers looking to boost their starting pay and other more veteran members with large families. At other times, he said, an officer or patrolman with a vacation coming up might put in for detail work to earn extra money for a planned trip.

Sullivan said from a manpower perspective, having two officers at Twin River helped the department with its patrol needs. When something needing police attention happens at the video slot facility, Sullivan said the town has two officers already there, and paid for by someone else. That improves response time and lessens the pressure on the rest of the shift, he said.

In the School Department, base pay ruled the day. Except for custodians, clerical workers and some teacher aides, virtually all employees get their base salaries, unenhanced. The top School Department wage earner in 2006 was then-Supt. John Tindall-Gibson at $108,318. He topped the list even though he left for a job in Connecticut in September of that year.

He was followed by his eventual successor, then-Student Services Director Georgia Fortunato and the district’s principals and central office chiefs. The only teacher to break the top 10 was high school English teacher Theresa M. DeRiso. Fortunato said her salary was boosted by a bonus the system pays for not taking health insurance from the district and by a stipend she received for teaching an extra English class that year.

Compiled by Paul Edward Parker

THE PROVIDENCE JOURNAL

Source: Town of Lincoln

Compiled by Paul Edward Parker

THE PROVIDENCE JOURNAL

Source: Lincoln School Dept.

jhill@projo.com