Town Administrator tops Lynnfield salary rankings

LYNNFIELD – The list of Lynnfield’s top 10 earners for 2008 may have been dominated by police and fire employees, but it was one man whose office is in Town Hall who led the pack. Town Administrator Bill Gustus ranked No. 1 with a gross income of $158,336, an increase of over $30,000 compared to his earnings the year before.Click Here for the complete list – LynnfieldGustus’ large salary topped that of last year’s number one earner, former Superintendent of Schools Richard Palermo. Palermo, who made $152,408 in 2007, resigned from his position just months before his pact ended. His replacement, former Lynnfield High Sch-ool principal Bob Hassett, jumped up to the No. 4 spot, as the new job title and responsibilities came with a hefty pay raise. Hassett earned a total income of $154,176 in 2008, up $42,000 from 2007.Fire Captain Michael Feinberg also saw a big jump in pay. In 2007, he placed 24th with a solid income of $91,428. In 2008, however, his earnings jumped by more than 50 percent, totaling $140,158 and putting him in the number five slot. He was the highest earning fire department employee. Firefighters Steven Allison, Harold Hall, James Alexander, Francis Lennon and Kevin Mutti followed with combined salaries of $586,905.The highest-paid police officer was Joseph Dunn, who earned a combined income of $154,866 with overtime and detail work. Not too far behind was Sean Kilroy, last year’s title holder. Kilroy earned $154,572 in 2008.School department employees, aside from Hassett, didn’t begin to appear on the list until high school principal Robert Cleary ranked 16th with $114,364. Twenty-four school employees, including principals, teachers, and department heads followed, all of whom earned more than $79,000.The man who wears two hats in town, Fire and Police Chief Paul Romano, dropped three spots to number 11. He took home $122,361. His wife, Anne Romano, who serves as an EMT and dispatcher, bumped up one spot on the list to number 13. She earned $117,248.Other than Gustus, the only other town hall employee to make the cut was Department of Public Works Director Dennis Roy. Roy earned $98,716 in 2008, up from $93,619 in 2007.