Management, school workers rule top earners in Marblehead

MARBLEHEAD – Once again management topped the 2007 list of the highest-paid town employees – and one out of three worked for the school department.The 10 top 2007 employees earned more than $100,000. Nine of them were department chief executives, chief financial officers and key administrators – and since it was a transitional year in the administration of the school and police departments there are two top executives who won’t be making that list until next year.Five of the top 10 were from the school department.Overall the list contained 23 school employees, 15 from the police department, 11 Municipal Light Department employees, seven municipal administrators and four from the fire department.Last year’s list included 29 school employees, 15 from the police department, eight Municipal Light employees, six municipal administrators and two fire department employees.The top 60 wage earners included 14 women this year, or 21 percent. Last year there were 16 women on the list, or 26 percent.Three teachers and six police patrolmen made the list, fewer than in the past two years.The teachers were longtime employees at the top of the teacher pay scale, and the police officers were those who worked the most overtime hours and the most police details.In what appears to be a tradition, the highest-ranking non-management employee was a police lieutenant. Jonathan Lunt was seventh on the list, earning $102,410 in 2007, including $17,375 in overtime and $17,384 in paid details.In 2006 Police Lt. Robert Picariello placed 11th on the list with $94,092. Picariello was named chief in 2007.The opportunity for police details and overtime decreased from 2005 to 2006 – at least as far as the top wage earners were concerned.In 2005 the top 60 wage earners included 17 police officers receiving a total of $243,581 income for details. The average detail income was $14,328. Eighteen officers received a total of $203,436 in overtime, for an average of $11,302 in overtime per officer.In 2006 there were 13 officers receiving a total of $174,896 in detail income. The average detail income was $13,453.