The top buck$ stop with Lynn Police

LYNN – As city employee’s wallets continue to get fatter with pay increases, the city’s budget continues to tighten across the board as ballooning salaries (and benefits) account for nearly 75 percent of the city’s total budget.Police officers account for the highest paid department in the city, with a total of roughly $18 million for police salaries, including details and overtime.With more than 3,400 employees on the payroll, including election and summer help, the city shelled out approximately $138 million in 2007.Click here reach complete list of Lynn salariesOf the top 10 highest paid employees, School Superintendent Nicholas Kostan and former Fire Chief Edward Higgins were the only non-police officers earning the top bucks.According to records of municipal salaries, Lynn Police Lt. Peter Holey exceeded his boss, Police Chief John Suslak’s salary by raking in $171,672.72.Holey’s base salary was $110,285.76, but with $56,944.96 in overtime and $4,442.00 in details, he far exceeded his coworkers.The number two spot went to Suslak, who earned $163,042.49, followed by Deputy Chief Kenneth Santoro who grossed $156,344.03.Kostan came in fourth in the city, earning $155,085.84, an increase of $433.84 over what he earned in 2006.Including Kostan, a total of 23 school employees earned more than $100,000, making up the second highest paid department in the city.The top paid employee in city hall was Inspectional Services Director Michael Donovan who earned $143,952.63, an increase of 3.7 percent over 2006.Mayor Edward J. Clancy Jr. ranked as the 14th highest paid employee in the city, with a salary of $140,576.08.The Fire Department’s top earner was Higgins at $144,468.86, up from his 2006 salary of $141,804, followed by District Chief Rocco Gecoy at $140,522.74, and District Chief Robert J. Bourgeois at $139,309.75.Speaking to the rising salaries across the board, Clancy said the numbers speak for themselves.”It is insane and we don’t have any control over it,” he said. “All of the salaries come out of collective bargaining and the salaries continue to rise to levels that are uncommon in the private sector. But nothing will ever change unless someone changes some mechanism that limits spending on the ability to pay?but I don’t think that’s going to happen.”Since there is seemingly no end in sight to the skyrocketing salaries, Clancy said there would most likely be layoffs in the near future.”Raises are determined by longevity in the contract, that’s why I get the money that I do, plus I have a doctorate and there are provisions in the law that grant extra money for degrees,” he said. “But these rules were in place long before I got here, and to be honest they have worked to my advantage.”Aside from raises, Clancy said once you factor in big-ticket items like pensions, healthcare, workman’s compensation and sick time, the numbers spiral out of control.Having opted out of accepting buyback sick leave one year to save the city some money, Clancy said he would consider forgoing his raise if everyone else in the city did the same.”I’d be glad to, but the mayor’s salary is tied to one of the unions and I don’t have any control over it,” he said.