SCITUATE — Of the 10 municipal employees who earned the highest salaries in 2006, Richard A. Iverson, public works director, was the only one not carrying a badge and gun. The others were police officers.

A Providence Journal check of town records for that year, part of a statewide effort by the newspaper, showed that Police Chief William F. Mack led the list, with $82,247. Iverson wasn’t even close — he wound up number nine, at $76,028.

On the schools side of the town payroll, Supt. Paul R. Lescault finished number one, at $131,698, followed by Assistant Supt. Kristen E. Stringfellow with $109,817. The rest of the schools list is made up of teachers and principals.

“We have a very frugal government,” said Treasurer Theodore J. Przybyla. “We don’t have a town manager or a fulltime director of finance. We have an elected town clerk.”

Przybyla is a part-time employee. “Under my responsibility is the tax assessor, the collector and the deputy treasurer — they report to me, although they are fulltime. I report to the council It’s a very unique situation. Not too many of these rural communities still have that level of management. The trend is toward fulltime professionals.”

Mack said there are a variety of reasons for police officers winding up at the top of the payroll.

“Overtime for one,” he said. “Overtime is generated for different reasons, including to meet minimum-manning contractual obligations.”

Officers can be asked to work overtime to fill in for colleagues who are ill or have been injured on duty.

“Also, people can be away at school, training, on active duty with the military — all of which affects the officers available for duty.”

Three of the officers on the list, Capt. Steven W. Bremges, Sgt. Brian S. Sedgely and Sgt. David Goolgasian, have since retired, Mack said. He said Bremges retired in 2006.

Mack said also that the salary figures may be misleading, because state and federal programs offer grants for officers to do additional work on programs involving drunk driving, or safety, or health. “The money shows up on gross income,” Mack said, but local taxpayers do not pay the bill — the town gets reimbursed.

“They may be making sure people are wearing seatbelts, and that kids are in safety seats. That money comes from the state Department of Transportation.”

“Details” are another important source of overtime pay for officers.

A contractor, for example, may have to excavate a road, and will hire an off-duty officer to direct traffic. The contractor pays the town, which in turn passes the money to the officer through his salary.

Mack checked records and said the department, with 18 sworn members, earned $94,000 in overtime pay in 2006.

“We had an officer absent for almost two months, injured on duty. We had an officer vacancy for three months, then we had a new officer who went to the academy and then into field training, another six months essentially that were not available for service. That’s pretty much the equivalent of being one officer down all year. Police officers are the highest paid in town because there’s no fulltime fire department. There is no town manager or administrator — it’s not like the town has those positions and yet police officers make more.”

Patrol Officer Donald R. Delaere earned $80,798 that year for example, the chief said. “Out of his total pay, $19,340 was details. That was our highest.” Goolgasian worked about 46 eight-hour days of details, he said. “Details are a big part of the officers’ salaries,” he said.

Mack said that retroactive pay of about $1,500 per officer that year from contract negotiations also needs to be factored in when analyzing the salary structure.

“Some have the impression that municipal and state employees somehow work in a featherbedding system,” he said. “I don’t think that’s an accurate portrayal.”

Compiled by Paul Edward Parker

THE PROVIDENCE JOURNAL

Source: Town of Scituate

Compiled by Paul Edward Parker

THE PROVIDENCE JOURNAL

Source: Scituate School Dept.

tmorgan@projo.com