TIVERTON — The town’s average cost for public employees, both in the School Department and in public safety and other municipal services, appear on the low side when compared with other East Bay communities.

According to a Providence Journal analysis of payroll figures for 2006, Tiverton paid town workers an average salary of $52,921, lower than most communities, falling between East Providence and Newport.

And the School Department’s average salary was $44,263, according to the newspaper’s figure, although the schools’ director of administration and finance says that average — the total payroll divided by the full-time equivalent positions — appears low.

Douglas Fiore said it would be more accurate to say that the average School Department salary is $52,220.

Interim Town Administrator James Goncalo said that looking at the median salary is another way of gauging typical pay.

According to figures the town submitted to The Journal, the median municipal pay is roughly $42,000, or about $10,000 less than the average.

Among the full-time employees of the School Department, the median salary is about the same, in the neighborhood of $42,000.

While the average gross pay for municipal workers compares favorably with other East Bay communities, both Goncalo and Police Chief Thomas Blakey indicated that figure — $52,921 — might be artificially high.

Not only do paychecks include overtime, which Blakey said is necessary for a variety of reasons, but they contain wages for police officers on private detail work, which the chief likened to “a second job at a convenience store.”

Blakey and Goncalo said the town requires those who hire police to submit payment to the town, which passes on the money due the officers and charges an administrative fee covering the processing costs.

Blakey said there are many reasons for overtime, both in the Police and Fire departments, which are not always visible to the public.

For example, an officer who writes a citation may need to appear in court to testify about the case. That duty can’t be assigned to someone else, Blakey said.

Even the police mechanic may need to work overtime to put snow tires on cruisers in the case of an unexpected snow storm, Blakey said.

In addition, minimum manning requirements in both the Police and Fire departments drives overtime, when assigned officers or firefighters are out sick or on vacation, or in the event of a vacancy in the ranks, Blakey said.

In all, the town paid a total of $343,340 in overtime to employees in several departments during 2006, including the Highway Department and the town clerk’s office. The town clerk’s office handled preparations, the count — and a recount — for a general election that year.

In the School Department, about one-half of the 180 classroom teachers have at least 10 years’ experience and made a base salary of $64,205 in the 2006-07 school year, according to Fiore, the schools’ director of administration and finance. (The top salary is still the same, as the School Committee and the teachers’ union have not settled on a new contract to replace the one that expired last August.)

In addition, teachers earn extra for advanced academic study and for coaching and other supplementary duties.

While The Journal calculated the average School Department salary on the basis of a 2006 payroll and a total 309.1 full-time equivalents, Fiore said the number of full-time employees was overstated.

For the 2006-07 school year, the School Department carried a total of 262 full-time equivalent positions, including the 180 classroom teachers, another 43 support positions related to academics, and 21 administrative and administrative support positions. In addition, there were 18 people in operations. 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

gmacris@projo.com