Police veteran was top earner in 2007
Published on April 30th, 2008
STONEHAM, MA - Veteran Police Lt. Richard McCarthy topped the charts as Stoneham's highest paid official last year, earning $113,255 in 2007, according to annual records prepared by the Town Treasurer's office.
McCarthy, who served as the town's acting chief of police until Sept. of 2007, earned $104,633 in regular pay and $8,662 in overtime in 2007.
Stoneham Fire Chief Joseph Rolli ranked as the second highest paid town employee, earning $110,120, while Stoneham High School Principal Edward Russo and Schools' Asst. Supt. Anne Patriquin ranked third and fourth, respectively, with $105,799 and $104,440 in earnings.
The fifth top earner was police veteran Tony Kranefuss, who's listed as making $102,278, which includes close to $19,000 in overtime in 2007. Town Administrator David Ragucci was the seventh highest paid employee last year, making $100,900, while DPW Director Robert Grover finished ninth on the list with $100,371 in pay.
Of the top 25 earners in 2007, 10 were school department employees, nine work for the police department, and three are firefighters. Three Town Hall/Board of Selectmen employees, including Ragucci, Grover, and Town Counsel Bill Solomon, were listed in the top 25.
McCarthy's spot as the top earner last year is an abnormality, as the town's supt. of schools and chief of police normally rank as the two highest paid workers.
According to Town Accountant Ron Florino, who served as Town Administrator during the transition from former Police Gregory O'Keefe to retired Chief Herb Moore - who McCarthy temporarily replaced - the veteran police lieutenant received a pay boost when he was named acting chief in 2007.
"You would get the chief's salary range, so you would be put into that grade level," said Florino, explaining why McCarthy jumped to the top of the list.
According to Acting Town Treasurer Diane Murphy, whose office compiles the salary listing each year, the chart is based upon W-2 tax forms prepared for calendar year 2007.
Because the data is based on W-2 statements, all reported earnings, including annuities, or other compensation such as car allowances, are included in the salary figures. It is also important to note that municipal budgets are set by fiscal year, from July to July, rather than calendar years.
Former Town Treasurer Thomas Cicatelli has previously acknowledged that the reporting method could partially skew actual salary figures - as opposed to benefits listed as earnings for tax purposes- but he believes the annual list is a fairly accurate.
However, because the list is based on calendar year earnings, several employees hired in the middle or end of 2007 are listed as having lower salaries.
Most notably, Schools Supt. Dr. Les Olson, who was hired last April to replace Dr. Joseph Connelly as the district's top administrator, finished in the 56th earnings spot with $73,249 in pay.
However, the first year supt.'s annual salary is actually set at $146,500, making him Stoneham's real top earner, as he makes $33,245 more than McCarthy. Olson is currently in the first year of a three year contract with the School Committee.
New Police Chief Richard Bongiorno is also slated to earn more than McCarthy on an annual basis. However, because Bongiorno wasn't hired until April of 2007, the police official is listed below the treasurer office's top 100 earners.
According to Florino, the former Cambridge Police captain's annual salary is $121,631, making him the second highest paid official in the Town of Stoneham. Bongiorno's base salary is $93,553, while the Quinn Bill entitles him to approximately $30,000 in extra pay for his education credentials.
"That's an extra $30,000 he gets for having a master's degree," the Town Accountant explained. "The town will get reimbursed by the state for about 50 percent of that."
In previous years, Cicatelli and police officials have complained about the way the annual listing lumps regular salaries, overtime, and detail pay together.
While overtime does come from tax dollars, detail pay is commonly paid for by third private parties, and the Town of Stoneham actually makes about 10 percent from each assignment to cover administrative costs.
"When you see police working all this overtime and then making $30,000 in details, they're working 70-hours a week to make that money. And the paid details are especially a bone of contention because the town actually makes money off of those," commented Cicatelli, when the list was released a year ago.
"As you take those details out, police and firefighting salaries tend to drop and school salaries prop up," the former Town Treasurer added.
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