LITTLE COMPTON — Don’t look for the ordinary when reviewing this quaint community’s lists of highest paid municipal and school employees.

You won’t find anyone making six figures or even close to it. Meanwhile, the school superintendent, often a community’s highest earner, wasn’t even in the top 10 in 2006, according to a Providence Journal analysis.

Of course, there are obvious explanations for why Little Compton stands apart from its neighboring communities and most of the rest of the state. Little Compton, whose population of 3,543 is the second smallest in the state behind little Block Island, doesn’t have a full-time superintendent. Nor does it have a mayor, full-time city manager or full-time fire chief.

While schools superintendents across the state were among the highest paid employees in their cities and towns, Little Compton’s Harold Devine didn’t make the town’s top 10, although he narrowly missed it. Devine, who works part-time for Little Compton, was paid $63,802.

As a result, the top spot went to Fran Blaess, principal of the town’s sole school, Wilbur & McMahon School. Blaess made $84,788. No one else in the School Department came close to earning what she did.

The others on the list were all teachers, with the most pay, $67,886, going to David G. MacGregor. The other eight teachers all made about $65,000, including Christine DeCosta, who no longer works for the town.

That leaves Police Chief Sidney M. Wordell topping the municipal list, with income of $74,009. His pay in 2006 included $58,843 in salary, $7,599 in overtime, $4,068 in holiday pay and $3,049 in longevity pay, according to town treasurer Mary Jane Harrington. She suggested that some of the extra pay was related to the time he spent as acting chief, yet Wordell was permanently appointed chief in July 2005.

Police officers and firefighters dominate the list of top 10 municipal earners, with overtime and detail pay enhancing their income. Of the remaining nine after Wordell, three are police offices and six are firefighters.

The second-highest paid town employee was fire Lt. Antone Marion, who received $66,978. The next six highest on the list were all firefighters, their pay ranging from $58,558.57 for Firefighter David Nickerson to $64,493 for Lt. David Wood.

Police officers John Harris, a patrolman, and John Faria Jr., a sergeant, rounded out the list, along with fire Capt. Donald P. Medeiros. Each earned about $57,000 in 2006.

Compiled by Paul Edward Parker

THE PROVIDENCE JOURNAL

Source: Town of Little Compton

Compiled by Paul Edward Parker

THE PROVIDENCE JOURNAL

Source: Little Compton School Dept.

rsalit@projo.com