EAST BRIDGEWATER — An educator is again East Bridgewater’s highest-paid employee, according to a review of East Bridgewater payroll data.
Superintendent of Schools Elizabeth Legault topped the list for calendar year 2023, just as she did in 2022 and 2020. In the most recently ended year, she grossed $217,475.
One notable change from last year came in the leadership at the police department. Chief Paul O’Brien retired in August 2023, making way for Michael Jenkins to become EB’s top cop. As you’d expect, that brought Jenkins into the top 10 list of earners.
The only other new name since last year is Police Sgt. Antonio M. Ferreira. He joined the top 10 after pulling $30,206 in overtime, $34,797 in retirement pay and $17,775 in “non-retirement” additional pay. That last last category includes police details, such as directing traffic at construction sites. East Bridgewater does not break out police details separately, however. Ferreira didn’t just earn big in 2023. He recently earned praise from Jenkins for helping the department snag a road-safety grant of more than $30,000.
The rest of the top 10 includes department heads like Fire Captain Jeffrey R. Kelley, Fire Chief Timothy Harhen and Director of Public Works John B. Haines.
Top 10 East Bridgewater earners
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Top 10 overtime earners
As in most Massachusetts cities and towns, police and firefighters tend to top the list of who earns the most in overtime. East Bridgewater reflects that trend, with seven of the top 10 overtime earners working in the fire department. Deputy Police Chief Michael W. McLaughlin and two police sergeants round out the list. Here’s how much the top 10 overtime earners made in overtime alone.
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Top earners of non-retirement pay
The town’s accounting category “additional non-retirement” pay includes details, which in nearby towns can add tens of thousands of dollars to a public employees’ compensation. However, the way the data is structured means it isn’t possible to show which employees earned the most via details. For example, Police Officer Robert Leo Lang had the most non-retirement pay for 2022. But the data do not show how much of that came from working details. It’s worth noting that when a private company has requested the detail, the money comes from the company, not taxpayers.
In a rarity among nearby towns, a town employee outside of public safety cracked the top 10. Robert E. Curtin from the Water Department earned $26,285 from “additional non-retirement pay.” The category also includes buy-back of vacation or sick leave, uniform cleaning and other payments, town officials have previously said.
When you see “(For Police Detail Work)” before a name in this list, it refers to officers from other jurisdictions working paid details in East Bridgewater.
Crunch the numbers for yourself
Municipal payrolls can be fascinating for the window they provide on who makes what and how that reflects town priorities. However the data can be difficult to track down and use. Below is a table you can sort by any column to drill down into what you want to know.
Mine the data
What did you find most interesting in the East Bridgewater payroll data? What’d we miss? Send your news tips to reporter Chris Helms by email at CHelms@enterprisenews.com or connect on Twitter at @HelmsNews.
